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Practical Observations 



UPON THE 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD 



AND 



DIETETICS 



SECOND REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION 



BY 

J. B. S. KING, M. D. 

Prof. Chemistry Hering Medical College, former Prof. Chemistry Hahne- 
mann Medical College, Secretary International Hahnemannian 
Association, Member American Homoeopathic, Ophthal., 
Otolog. and Laryngolog. Society, Member Ameri- 
can Institute Homoeopathy, Etc., Etc. 



PHILADELPHIA 

BOERICKE & TAFEL 

1907 



\ 



4> 



I{BRARYofCOMGPrs"s~- 

Two Ooolfes Received 

JUL 2j 90f 

Cepynrtit Entry 

JLASS C^ .,.,;.: No. 

/kc VST* 

COPY ti. f 




Copyright, 1907 

By 

BOERICKE & TAFEL 



DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF 

DR. CLARENCE WILXARD BUTLER 
: : : of montci^air, n. j. : : : 
gentleman : physician i scholar 



INTRODUCTION. 

There has probably never been a time when the 
attention of the public has been more generally di- 
rected toward the care of the health than the present. 
Bvery newspaper in the land seems to have a column 
or a corner devoted to the development of the body, 
to the care of the skin, to the obliteration of wrinkles, 
to the attainment of beauty, or to some phase of the 
care of the body. 

Magazines devoted to physical culture, to diet, to 
vegetarianism, etc., are widely circulated and read; 
there are books devoted to the thesis that fruit acids 
are deleterious and poisonous, and other books to 
prove that they are indispensable. Pseudo-scientific 
articles attempting to show that potatoes produce 
large abdomens, that tea causes the teeth to protrude, 
that carbohydrates have the effect of overdeveloping 
the chin, that onions relax the jaw tissues, and a host 
of like absurdities, have appeared in popular maga- 
zines. Books have been written which try to prove 
that all our ills come from uric acid foods, and many 
essays and pamphlets to show that that proposition 
was not true. 

Then there are raw-food people and vegetarians and 
partial vegetarians and nutarians and fruitarians ; also 



b INTRODUCTION. 

there are grape cures and apple cures and milk cures 
and hunger cures and thirst cures. The stores are 
full of malted foods and steamed foods and digested 
foods and concentrated foods and health foods, and 
finally, after seventeen years of unrighteous opposition 
on the floor of the United States Senate, the Pure 
Food Bill has passed. 

All of which goes to show that the popular mind 
has been awakened and directed, however mistakenly, 
toward the subject of the care of the body. As is 
often the case, the medical profession is lagging in 
the rear. Nothing corresponding to the popular in- 
terest in the subject has been awakened in the profes- 
sional mind. There is probably no subject connected 
with the care of patients that doctors are so perplexed 
by as diet. Many physicians have their ideas of diet 
based purely on prejudice; what happens to agree 
with them personally they recommend to their pa" 
tients, and what disagrees with their particular organ- 
ism they sternly forbid. The questions most fre- 
quently propounded to doctors by patients probably 
relate to the diet, and the most confusing and inac- 
curate directions that patients receive from doctors 
relate to the same important subject. A knowledge 
of the principles common to all foods, and the func- 
tion of each, is indispensable to a physician. A 
knowledge of the proportion of these constituents in 
many of the standard foods should follow, and would 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

be found of the greatest advantage in practice. A 
knowledge of the general principles of cooking is also 
extremely useful. 

These considerations, together with the fact that 
the branch of dietetics which relates to standard diet- 
aries has very recently undergone changes so great 
that they are little short of revolutionary, seem to in- 
dicate that a concise book upon the subject embody- 
ing the latest views might be welcome. 

J. B. S. King, M. D. 

Suite 1008, Masonic Temple, Chicago. 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD AND 
DIETETICS. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF NUTRITION. 

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF FOOD. 

Human food in the complex must contain all the 
elements of the human body. The elements of the 
human body are as follows: 

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen (gaseous). 

Potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium (mineral 
and basic). 

Phosphorus, sulphur, ^chlorine, iodine (mineral and 
acidulous). 

Silicon, iron (mineral and metallic). 

Traces of other elements, such as arsenic and cop- 
per, are found in minute quantities, but the above are 
all that are of practical interest so far as the study of 
nutrition goes. 

None of the above elements exist in a free state, 
either in food or in the body ; they are all chemically 
combined to form certain compounds, and it is these 
compounds that are to be studied as the principles of 
food. The first of these is 

* Chlorine, although a gas, is here classed with acidulous min- 
erals on account of its analogy to iodine. 

2 



10 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

Water. — Composed of the elements hydrogen and 
oxygen of the above list ; it is the universal medium, 
diluent and solvent, found in all foods and indispen- 
sable to life. It is not decomposed in the body, and 
hence furnishes no energy ; various foods contain 
from 10 to 95 and the human body 70 per cent, of it. 

Mineral Matters. — These are alkaline and earthy 
salts ; they consist of calcium, magnesium, potassium 
and sodium, combined with sulphuric and phosphoric 
acids to form sulphates and phosphates, and with 
chlorine to form chlorides. Phosphorus, sulphur and 
iodine also exist and perform important functions, in 
combination with organic albumins. Sodium chloride 
is found in larger proportion in the serum of the blood, 
potassium chloride in the red blood corpuscles and in 
muscle cells, potassium phosphate in the brain and 
nerve tissue; calcium, magnesium and silicon in the 
cartilages, bones and teeth ; iodine in the glands, and 
iron in the red corpuscles. 

Five per cent, of the whole body or about seven 
and a half pounds in a man of average size consists 
of mineral matters, five-sixths of which is in the 
osseous framework. These minerals are absolutely 
essential to life, and even if all the other constituents 
of food are furnished, death occurs after about one 
month of their deprivation. The daily intake and 
output of mineral matter is about 400 grains, some- 
thing less than an ounce, and would be fully supplied 
by ordinary food, even without the extra additions of 
common salt that the cook usually adds. 

The most important minerals are lime, soda, iron 
and phosphoric acid. Phosphorus plays an important 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF NUTRITION. 11 

role in nutrition; in addition to its usefulness in 
building- the bony tissues, it is an essential of cell 
activity. Next to bones, the brain and nerves are 
rich in phosphorus. Strange to say, the ligaments 
and tendons, whose function is so similar to bones, 
contain the least phosphorus of any animal tissue. 
The daily need of iron is very small, only about one- 
sixth of a grain, and that amount is easily contained 
in ordinary food. 

Protein. — Nitrogen is the characteristic element of 
this class. It includes the most essential as well as 
the most worthless of foods. The American Associa- 
tion of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations 
adopted and recommended the term protein, in place 
of proteid, albumin, albuminoids, nitrogenous foods, 
etc., employed by various writers, and this name is 
here used. 

Protein may be divided into three classes, albumin- 
oids, gelatinoids and extractives. (Note I.) 

Albuminoids include the white of egg, the lean of 
meat, the casein of milk and the gluten of wheat. 
These are indispensable ; life cannot be maintained 
without them. They build up new tissue during the 
period of growth ; they repair the waste of tissue in 
adult life and, by virtue of the carbon and hydrogen 
that they contain, they also contribute to the heat and 
energy of the body. 

Gelatinoids occupy a very secondary position, for 
the reason that their nitrogen is not available for the 
repair of tissue, as is that of the albuminoids; they 
save the latter from being consumed, however, and 
leave it intact to perform its tissue-building function 



12 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

instead of being used up in energy ; hence they are 
sometimes called albumin-sparers. Gelatin is a famil- 
iar example of this class ; glue is an impure form 
of it. 

Extractives come under this head only because they 
contain nitrogen; they furnish scarcely any strength 
to the body and are very hard to eliminate, being 
potent producers of uric acid. They serve as stimu- 
lants and appetizers. The agreeable savor of cooked 
meats is largely due to extractives, and they form the 
principal part of the commercial meat extracts. 

Carbohydrates. — Consist of carbon, hydrogen and 
oxygen. They are almost exclusively of vegetable 
origin, the only animal carbohydrates being milk- 
sugar and honey. 

They are the chief fuel of the body, furnishing it 
with muscular energy and figuring largely in the pro- 
duction of animal heat. They are represented by 
starches, sugar, pectins and gums. 

Hydrocarbons. — These are fats and oils of all kinds, 
both from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. They 
consist of the same elements as the carbohydrates, but 
in a very different relative proportion. They are the 
most powerful heat producers of all, and hence are 
particularly adapted to cold weather and cold cli- 
mates. 

The above facts are shown in a summary in the 
following table : 



THE FUNCTIONS OF FOOD. 



13 



CONSTITUENTS OF FOOD IN GENERAL. 



Water 

Minerals Earthy and Alka- 
line Salts. 

Hydrocarbons Fats and Oils. 

Carbohydrates Starches, Sugars, 

Gums. 

Protein Meat, Fish, Eggs, 

Peas, Grains, 
Beans, Cheese, 
Gelatine. 



Hydrogen and Oxy- The universal 
gen. diluent and 

solvent. 

Necessary to 
osmosis, and 
assimilation; 
maintain the 
alkalinereac- 
tion of the tis- 
sues. 

Heat and En- 
ergy. 



Calcium, Magnesi- 
um, Sodium, Potas- 
sium, Phosphorus, 
Chlorine, Sulphur, 
Iron, and Silicon. 



Carbon, Hydrogen, 
Oxygen. 

Carbon, Hydrogen, 
Oxygen. 

Nitrogen, Carbon, 
Hydrogen, Oxygen. 



Energy 
Heat. 



and 



Tissue builders 
and repair- 
ers. Energy 
and Heat. 



THE FUNCTIONS OF FOOD. 

It may be seen from the foregoing table that food 
has a threefold function: First, it must supply animal 
heat ; second, it must supply energy for work ; third, 
it must furnish the elements for growth and for the 
replacing of worn-out tissue. 

Animal heat is supplied by all the foods in varying 
degrees; in the highest degree by fats and oils; in a 
considerable degree by sugars and starches ; protein 
also is capable of maintaining animal heat. 

Energy for work is furnished largely by the starches 
and sugars, in a less degree by the fats and oils. Pro- 
tein is also capable of furnishing energy with great 
rapidity. 

The building and repair of tissue is the peculiar 
function of protein. It will be noticed that protein 
alone is capable of fulfilling all the functions of food, 
and this universality of use gives it its great promi- 



14 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

nonce. Instances can be cited where men have lived 
for long periods of time with a high degree of vigor 
and well-being upon nothing but water, meat and salt. 
Such a highly nitrogenous diet, however, requires an 
active life in the open air, and even then should not 
be maintained indefinitely. 

For reasons hereafter stated it seems desirable that 
the protein consumption should not be much in ex- 
cess of the amount required to make good the tissue 
waste, and that most of the requisite heat and energy 
of the body should be derived from the carbohydrates 
and fat, rather than from protein. 

The comparison of the human body to a steam en- 
gine is so old that, when used now, it is generally 
with an apology for its triteness. It is, notwithstand- 
ing, a very useful and apt illustration of many things 
about nutrition. Thus the protein that maintains the 
integrity of the tissues may be compared to the steel 
and iron that replace old and worn-ont parts and keep 
the engine in repair. 

The carbonaceous food that supplies animal heat 
and the ability to do work is like the coal that makes 
the steam pressure. The comparison may easily 
be extended with advantage to the subject of ex- 
creta. 

The burning of coal under the boiler and the di- 
gestion of food in the bodv are essentially alike in 
that they are processes of oxidation or combustion, 
the inevitable result of which is waste products or 
ashes. 

If the coal is of good quality and in proper quan- 
tity, the ash is hue and completely burned. If of 



STANDARD OF VALUE. 15 

poor quality or in too large quantity, clinkers and 
incompletely consumed cinders are the result. If the 
draft is slow or the supply of air deficient, cinders are 
again in evidence. 

Normal urine and feces represent the fine, well- 
burned ash of good coal. Uric acid crystals, amor- 
phous urates and phosphatic sediments in the body 
or urine, from overeating or from improper food, cor- 
respond to the clinkers and half-burned cinders from 
bad coal or too much fuel that clog the fire. When 
resulting from insufficient exercise or scanty intake 
of oxygen, as in the damaged lungs of a consumptive, 
they represent the same thing, but then occurring from 
choked draft. 

The smoke and vapors that escape through the 
chimney represent the expired air and the gaseous 
waste of the system. An important difference is that 
the human engine builds its own parts, repairs its 
own breaks, oils its own joints, frees its own pipes 
and keeps up its own fires, with an economy and per- 
fection that the best mechanism of man only clumsily 
and inadequately imitates. (Note II.) 

STANDARD OF VALUE. 

One of the inherent difficulties of the subject of 
diet has been to fix some standard by which the rela- 
tive nutritive value of food might be measured. Of 
late years a standard of value has been adopted, called 
the Calorie, which allows of a much more accurate 
comparison of various foods than was formerly pos- 
sible. It is based upon the fact that the digestion of 
food is essentially the combustion of food, and the 



16 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

amount of heat evolved by the complete combustion 
of a certain amount of food has been found to be the 
best index of its nutritive value that we have. 

The amount of food used in the experiment is one 
gram (15 j4 grains). 

The standard of heat production is called a Calorie, 
written with a capital, and means the amount of heat 
required to raise one liter of water one degree Centi- 
grade (or one pound of water four degrees Fahr.). 
To ascertain the value of any food by this standard 
one has to find out how many degrees Centigrade one 
liter of water is raised by the complete combustion of 
one gram of the food in question. The result gives 
the value of the food in terms of Calories. It is freely 
admitted that combustion outside the body and diges- 
tion within it are not strictly convertible terms, espe- 
cially in regard to protein, yet even with this admis- 
sion, it has been found that no other method of com- 
parison gives such an accurate idea of food values. 
The fuel value of one gram of each of the three im- 
portant constituents of food, according to the most 
recent experiments, made by Atwater, is as follows : 
(Note III.) 

Protein 4 Calories. 

Carbohydrate 4 " 

Fat 9.1 " 

To apply the Calorie standard to any food it is only 
necessary to know its chemical composition, and then 
to multiply the percentage of protein and carbohy- 
drate by four and the percentage of fat by 9.1. The 
result gives the number of Calories afforded by 100 
grams of the food. 



STANDARD OF VALUE. 17 

For example : Eggs contain, according to the aver- 
age of sixty analyses, 14.8 per cent, of protein, 10.5 
per cent, of fat and no carbohydrate to speak of. 
Then 

14.8 X 4 - 59.2 
10.5 x 9-1 = 95.5 



154.7 

Therefore, the value of 100 grams of eggs (two 
average sized eggs) is 154.7 Calories. 

If a sample of milk contains 4 per cent, of protein, 
5 per cent, of sugar and 4 per cent, of fat ; then the 
Calorie value of 100 grams (3 1-3 ounces) would be 

4X4 = l6 
5X4 =20 
4 X 9. 1 = 36 

72 

The usefulness of the Calorie standard is very great, 
but it should not be overestimated nor considered as 
more than one factor, though an important one, in 
the comparison of foods. Base of digestion, rapidity 
of digestion, completeness of absorption and cost must 
all be considered in putting a definite value upon an 
article of diet. Sawdust, for instance, would give at 
least as high a Calorie value as starch, but owing to 
its indigestibility is of no nutritional value whatever. 

In order to give an idea of the fuel value of some 
common foods, the number of Calories yielded by 100 
grams is given in the following table. One hundred 
grams (3 1-3 ounces) would not be far ffom the 
amount of edible substance in an ordinary helping of 
meat, eggs or potato at a meal. 



18 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

Calories, 

ioo grams (3 1-3 oz.) medium fat pork . . 285 

" bacon 620 

" beef 170 

cheese 411 

oats 396 

wheat 339 

^ce 347 

white bread 263 

johnny cake 248 

milk 72 

e ggs 154-7 

potato 66 

The Calorie value of the food for twenty-four hours 
of a man of average weight should be from 1,500 to 
3,000. The lower number for a sedentary life, the 
higher when engaged in active labor. 

ABSORBABILITY OF FOOD. 

In estimating food values the question of the ease 
and completeness of its absorption becomes an im- 
portant factor. The carbohydrates (starch and sugar) 
of all kinds of food seem to be absorbed to the last 
particle; cellulose, although of the same percentage 
composition as starch, is not absorbed at all, yet counts 
equally in estimating Calorie values. Of all this class, 
fruit sugar (glucoses) enters most rapidly into the 
blood, cane sugar (saccharoses) next and starch (amy- 
loses) the least rapidly. 

Fat is very completely absorbed, but not with great 
rapidity^ the ease with which various fats are ab- 
sorbed depends largely upon their melting point ; the 



ABSORBABILITY OF FOOD. 19 

lower the melting point the more readily it yields to 
the digestive organs, and vice versa. 

Protein from animal sources is more readily and 
completely absorbed than that from the vegetable 
kingdom. The completeness of protein absorption 
depends npon its relative amount ; when the per cent, 
is small there is a greater waste than when the 
amount is greater. This is probably dne to its en- 
tanglement in the larger proportion of cellulose and 
starch present, so that it escapes the direct action of 
the digestive juices. 

The protein of meat and eggs, for instance, is com- 
pletely and easily absorbed, less than 3 per cent, be- 
ing wasted, while the protein of peas is wasted to the 
extent of 10 per cent., and that of potatoes to the ex- 
tent of about one-third. Vegetable food, in general, 
shows a much greater loss of protein than do meat 
and eggs. When we come to consider the absorption 
of the whole food, however, which is a fairer point of 
view, we find that, so far as the important vegetable 
foods go, they exceed meat as a whole. Thus, of 
w T hite bread only 4 per cent, is wasted, while of the 
whole meat (not protein alone) about 5 per cent, is 
lost. Fine white bread is absorbed more completely 
and yields more heat and energy than the coarse 
breads. This is contrary to the statements made by 
many food journals and even by works on the subject, 
but is nevertheless correct. The point was proved by 
experiments made in the laboratory of the University 
of Minnesota in 1890. (Note IV.) 

The coarser breads, however, contain more of the 
various constituents of the grain and are a better food 



20 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

for growing children and for those leading sedentary 
lives. 

ELIMINATION. 

There is no fire without ashes, and the fire of life 
is no exception to the rule. The insoluble debris of 
food, the waste products of combustion and the de- 
tritus from the decay of tissue, all produce a quantity 
of effete matter that must be gotten rid of, in order 
that the body may be in a clean and healthy condi- 
tion. 

The waste and useless end-products of combustion 
in the body issue forth in various ways, through or- 
ganic pipes and tubes, which may be compared to the 
sewers of a city ; the carbon appears as carbon dioxide 
in the expired air from the lungs, and as carbonates 
of the alkalies and alkaline earths in the urine and 
perspiration. 

Hydrogen escapes as water by the same routes. 
Phosphorus, sulphur and chlorine unite with oxygen, 
forming acids, which, in turn, combine with the alka- 
lies and earths to form soluble salts, which appear in 
the urine. 

The greater part of the nitrogen (85 per cent.) ap- 
pears in the urine as urea, a soluble neutral crystal- 
line body ; a part also appears as a hard, gritty, insol- 
uble, crystalline, bi-basic acid, known as uric acid. 

Between the food as it enters the mouth and its 
ultimate waste products that leave the body there is 
a multitude of intermediates concerning which we are 
far from possessing complete knowledge. 

This much is known : The products of carbon met- 



ELIMINATION. 21 

abolism, consisting, as they do, of carbon dioxide and 
water, are comparatively easy for the eliminative or- 
gans to handle. Owing to their fluid and gaseous 
nature they are not capable of seriously encumbering 
the system. The worst thing that they can do is to 
produce an excessive formation of fat, which, while 
not desirable, is not in itself poisonous. The same 
innocuousness does not go with the products of nitro- 
genous metabolism. These form a series of hard, 
more or less insoluble, crystalline bodies that are 
passed along from tissue to tissue and from organ to 
organ with difficulty, and are prone to encumber and 
obstruct the organs through which they must pass 
and also to fret and injure their structure. 

Nor is it mere mechanical obstruction that charac- 
terizes them ; most, if not all, of these tissue-fretting 
bodies exert a positive toxic action upon the system. 
Xanthin, hypoxanthin, creatin, creatinin, adenin, am- 
monium carbamate, urea and uric acid are some of 
the principles that are known to exert a poisonous in- 
fluence when present in the body in slight excess. 

All flesh foods contain these substances ; they are 
also formed to a slight extent in our own tissues and 
from the digestion of vegetable protein. Such facts 
as we possess make it clear that excess of protein, 
especially of animal origin, is more harmful to health 
than excess of carbohydrates or fat. The many va- 
rieties of gout and innumerable obscure diseased states 
have their roots in this nitrogenous debris-encumbered 
condition of the system. 

Thorough elimination means clean tissues, and 
clean tissues mean vigor, flexibility and endurance. 



22 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

It is evident from the foregoing considerations that 
nitrogenous foods clog the system more than others, 
and it is an obvious inference that too much of that 
kind of food is especially to be avoided. Attention 
and appreciation of these facts should impress upon 
the mind the importance of avoiding all excessive 
ingestion of food. It is by ingestion that elimination 
may be controlled, and the regulation of the intake 
of food is the only proper and orderly way to con- 
trol it. 

It is most unfortunate that the public has been 
educated to regard catharsis as the key to proper 
elimination. The effects of overindulgence, gluttony 
and improper foods are supposed to be promptly re- 
lieved by a cathartic pill, and this unscientific delu- 
sion is fostered by numerous patent medicine adver- 
tisements in the daily press. The profession should 
endeavor to teach the laity that the evacuation of the 
bowels is the last and outermost of a long series of 
internal purifications, and that to force them to over- 
action is to begin purification at the wrong end. It 
is certainly a very inadequate corrective of improper 
eating. 

THE DAILY AMOUNT OF FOOD. 

As the result of many years' observation and ex- 
periment, certain amounts of each of the three chief 
food principles have been set down as necessary for 
the preservation of health and strength. The neces- 
sary data were obtained by the so-called empirical 
method, that is, by observations made upon healthy 
individuals eating as much as they wanted of what 



THE DAILY AMOUNT OF FOOD. 23 

they pleased. The food consumed was analyzed and 
the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat deter- 
mined. The excreta during the same period were 
also analyzed, so as to show whether the income of 
food and the outgo, as represented by the excreta, 
were balanced or in equilibrium. 

The quantities thus obtained by various observers, 
acting independently, were in fairly close agreement 
with each other and averaged about as follows : 

Protein, 120 gm. (4 oz.) ; fat, 59 gm. (2 oz.); car- 
bohydrate, 500 gm. (17 oz.). 

It should be understood that these figures refer to 
dry material and not to food in its ordinary condition. 
Translated into quantities of food such as we handle 
and eat, it would be about as follows : 

Beef, 13 oz.; butter, 2 oz.; potatoes, 6 oz.; bread, 
20 oz.; for the meals of twenty-four hours. The Ca- 
lorie value is about 3,400. 

There seems to have been a very general agreement 
by authorities on the subject (up to very recent times) 
that the above quantities of food constituents were 
the minimum amount required by a man of average 
weight doing a moderate amount of muscular labor. 
Diminution in the protein was considered the most 
dangerous feature of underfeeding, and the hardest to 
recover from. It is only of very recent date that 
these figures have been criticized or questioned. The 
general principle that the ideal diet consisted of the 
smallest amount of protein (with carbohydrate added) 
that would serve to keep up body weight and vigor 
was emphasized by all investigators. The difficulty 
was that when it came to experiment, the data were 



24 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

gathered from lmman appetites and desires rather 
than from the actual needs of the body. 

When we reflect upon how much of self-indulgence 
and gratification of the palate and how little of 
thought enters into the selection of what and how 
much we eat, we may realize how unsatisfactory and 
misleading must be the results deduced from such ex- 
periments. 

Mr. Horace Fletcher was the Columbus who, with 
the aid of a professional man, Dr. Van Someren, first 
pointed out that exceptional health and vigor could 
be maintained upon one-half the amount recommended 
in the accepted dietaries. 

The visit of Mr. Fletcher to the Yale University 
was epoch-making. He succeeded in interesting Prof. 
R. H. Chittenden, director of the Sheffield Scientific 
School, to such an extent that he was put in Profes- 
sor Chittenden's laboratory for a period of thirteen 
days for the purpose of exact observation. The result 
was that a daily allowance of protein, 44.9 gm. (i}4 
oz. nearly); fat, 38 gm. (i}{ oz.); carbohydrate, 253 
gm. (8 J/2 oz.), kept Mr. Fletcher in nutritional equi- 
librium, although his weight is 165 pounds. The 
Calorie value of his food was about 1,600 per diem. 

Then followed those well-known observations upon 
thirteen United States soldiers for a period of six 
months, which demonstrated that excellent health, 
increased vigor and full body weight could be main- 
tained upon a dietary consisting of about one-half of 
the protein called for in standard dietaries, and this 
without any increase in carbohydrate. 

These results were further extended and confirmed 



THE DAILY AMOUNT OF FOOD. 25 

by experiments upon five professional men and eight 
trained athletes, one of the latter winning champion- 
ships in two college events while under the restricted 
diet. 

These experiments were made upon different types 
of men and extended over sufficiently long periods of 
time to prove conclusively that there is no need for 
such quantities of food as the prevalent dietary stand- 
ards call for. Health that was exceptional and in- 
creased vigor are fully proved thereby to be com- 
patible with an amount of protein less by one-half, 
without any increase in fat and carbohydrates, than 
is demanded by the figures of Voit, Atwater and oth- 
ers. It is safe, in view of these recent experiments, 
to put the standard dietaries upon a new basis. There 
is no real physiological need for more than : Protein, 
50 gm. (1^ oz.) ; fat, 50 gm. (1^ oz.) ; carbohydrate, 
480 gm. (16 oz.). 

This translated into quantities of plain food in its 
ordinary condition (not water free), would be : Beef, 
5^ oz.; butter, 1^ oz.; potatoes, 6 oz.; bread, 19 oz.; 
for twenty-four hours, of which the Calorie value 
would be about 2,500. 

An inevitable defect about averages is that, how- 
ever true, they may not be applicable to particular 
individuals. It may be absolutely true, for instance, 
that the protein needs of a thousand men will average 
120 gm. (4 oz.), but John Roe may be better off on 
that amount, and Richard Doe on one-half that 
amount. Moreover, what is applicable to a man at 
rest would be too little for him when at hard work, 
and as in daily life work cannot be measured, the 



26 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

varying needs of the individual must be largely guess- 
work, notwithstanding scientific averages. Professor 
Chittenden does not say that his subjects received 
just the proper amounts of food for their daily needs ; 
he simply claims to have demonstrated that health 
and vigor can be maintained on much less food than 
science has heretofore set down as the minimum. 
This was much, but there must be a "better way," 
according to Mr. Fletcher's phrase, for the individual 
to determine the kind and amount of food needed by 
the body for the varying factors of the rest and work 
of daily life. 

This is the problem that Horace Fletcher has set- 
tled for all intelligent people who are willing to re- 
ceive the information and pay the price of a little 
self-denial. With a full appreciation of the labors of 
Voit, Moleschott, Atwater, Playfair and others, it will 
one day be acknowledged that this simple discovery 
of Horace Fletcher (a layman) outweighs, or at least 
equals, in practical benefit to humanity all the valu- 
able results obtained by these skilled professional 
scientists. 

What is this momentous discovery that teaches 
what food to eat to meet the individual's needs, and 
how much to eat at a meal to match the ever- varying 
factors of rest and work, far better than averages de- 
duced by the most stupendous labors from thousands 
of analyses ? 

It is so simple that it seems lamentable, and even 
ridiculous, that it has not been discovered before. 
Hundreds of books on the physiology of digestion 
have mentioned the importance of chewing the food, 



THE DAILY AMOUNT OF FOOD. 27 

but none of them with the emphasis necessary to 
change one's habits entirely and produce far-reaching 
benefits. This discovery is simply the mastication of 
each mouthful of food until no taste is left in the 
morsel and the deglutition has been an involuntary 
process. Its simplicity is one of the formidable diffi- 
culties in the way of its general adoption ; people will 
climb mountains, take nauseous drugs, endure all 
kinds of disagreeable treatments to regain lost health, 
but this is too simple. Moreover, even when the mind 
is convinced and one starts in with the novel method, 
such is the inveterate persistence of long-standing bad 
habits that for a long period eternal vigilance becomes 
the price of rational mastication. 

The method by which I have succeeded best in get- 
ting people to break up the life-long bad habit of pre- 
mature deglutition is by the following steps, mostly 
taken from or suggested by Mr. Fletcher's U A-B-Z of 
Our Own Nutrition:" 

First. Reflection upon what you are about to 
eat. Do you really want it, or are you going to eat 
whatever is put before you, simply because you have 
formed a habit of eating at this time? Be sure about 
this before you eat anything. Better go without a 
meal than to put food that is not needed into your 
stomach, or to eat simply because it is a habit. 

Second. Attention to each mouthful. It must 
be masticated and insalivated as long as there is any 
taste in the morsel. // must not be swallowed until 
one is compelled to by the involuntary action of the 
faucial muscles. It is best not to talk while eating, 
until you have formed the habit of proper mouth 



28 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

digestion ; at first this will require the whole atten- 
tion. 

Third. Appreciation. — It leads naturally to ap- 
preciation of flavors and savors unknown before, and 
such as the bolter of food can never know. 

Observance of these three rules gradually leads to 

Instinctive knowledge of what supplies the 
needs of one's system, and the proper quantity of it. 
After a time some things that you were fond of will 
grow distasteful, which will show that they are not 
good for you, and some plain foods, that you were in- 
different to, become sweet and attractive. There will 
follow 

Evacuation of dry stools, less frequently, less in 
amount and less malodorous than under ordinary 
habits. 



CHEMISTRY OF SPECIAL FOODS. 

MILK. 

Milk is a complete food, furnished ready for use by 
nature. It is a kind of epitome of food in general, 
for representatives of each of the important principles 
of nutrition are found in it, namely, protein, carbo- 
hydrate, fat, salts and water. It furnishes, moreover, 
a fine example of the exquisite adaptation of nature's 
products to the end in view, for the milk of every 
animal is accurately fitted by its composition to the 
needs of the young for whom it is intended. For in- 



CHEMISTRY OF SPECIAL FOODS. 29 

stance, the milk of the walrus, whale and seal is ex- 
cessively rich in fat — ten times richer than cow's 
milk — with the evident purpose that the young ani- 
mal may be enabled to resist the rigors of the Arctic 
winter by an abundance of this heat-producing prin- 
ciple. 

The solids in cows' milk amount to about 13 per 
cent. They are: Protein, 4 per cent. (3.5 casein, 5 
lactalbumin) ; fat, 4 or 5 per cent.; milk sugar, 4 per 
cent.; mineral salts, .7 per cent. These are the aver- 
age amounts only, for it must be remembered that 
milk varies greatly in composition ; this is owing not 
only to adulteration but also to the quantity and char- 
acter of the fodder given the cows. 

Casein. — The chief nitrogenous constituent of milk 
is casein ; it differs from other protein compounds in 
containing both phosphorus and sulphur, and is the 
principal material out of which the tissues of the 
young are constructed. Heat does not coagulate it, 
but it is very easily clotted or curdled by the action 
of acids and by rennet. Casein contains no nuclein 
Since nuclein is the chief source of uric acid, it is im- 
portant to know this when selecting a diet for cases in 
which uric acid is deleterious. Moreover, it differs from 
other proteins in yielding carbohydrate with difficulty 
when split up by the digestive process, a fact which 
should make it of special value in diabetes mellitus. 

The only other protein of milk is lactalbumin ; it 
is present in cows' milk in the proportion of about 
one-seventh of the total protein. It differs from casein 
in being coagulated by heat, and constitutes the skiu 
which forms on milk when boiled. In human milk 



30 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

it forms one-half the total protein, and this fact fur- 
nishes a key to the frequent occurrence of indigestion 
from tough curds of casein in infants fed upon cows' 
milk. The total protein of cows' milk averages 4 per 
cent. The curd artificially precipitated by an acid or 
from spontaneously soured milk is casein, with the 
butter entangled in it ; it is soluble in a weak alkali. 

Butter. — The fat of milk is butter and is present 
in about the proportion of 4 per cent. Owing to its 
low melting point, its fine emulsification and the ex- 
traordinarily large amount of fatty acids in its com- 
position, it is one of the most easily digested of fats. 
Even when so large a quantity as one-quarter pound 
per day is consumed, less than one-half of 1 per cent, 
is unabsorbed, which is a better result than can be 
obtained from any other animal fat, with the possible 
exception of the fixed oil of egg yolks. Owing to its 
palatability it is a very valuable aid in the dietetic 
treatment of diabetes. 

Carbohydrates. — Lactose or milk sugar is the car- 
bohydrate of milk ; with glycogen from the liver and 
honey from the bee, it comprises the only carbohy- 
drates from the animal kingdom. It is less soluble, 
less sweet and less susceptible to fermentation than 
cane sugar, though, like it, its molecule contains 12 
carbon atoms. In the presence of w T armth and certain 
very 7 common micro-organisms, it is easily converted 
into lactic acid, which is the cause of milk turning 
sour and curdling when allowed to stand in a warm 
place. Cows' milk averages 4 per cent, of milk 
sugar; human milk contains about 7 per cent, and 
hence is considerably sweeter. Skimmed milk and 



CHEMISTRY OF SPECIAL FOODS. 31 

separated milk, that is, milk from which the cream 
has been removed, owe their highly nutritious quality 
to the lactose and casein which still remain, together 
with such a minimum of fat as has escaped the pro- 
cess. Bread made with skimmed milk is decidedly 
stronger in nutritive qualities than ordinary bread, as 
has been proved by analyses in the University of 
Minnesota. 

Mineral Matter. — Salts are present in the propor- 
tion of 0.7 per cent, and they vary less than any of 
the other constituents of milk. The salts are present 
in exactly the proportion that they exist in the body 
of the animal that they are designed to nourish. The 
phosphates, chlorides and sulphates are in much the 
same proportion that they are in the blood. Potas- 
sium salts are in larger proportion than sodium salts ; 
they supply muscular tissue, while the latter are found 
more in the fluids of the body. The calcium, which 
is abundant, plays an important and necessary role in 
the growth of the cartilages and bones. 

The only deficiency in milk is iron ; this metal is 
very scantily represented. There is only about one 
grain in five gallons of milk, and it would take a 
large volume to supply an adult with his daily quan- 
ity of iron. Hence, under an exclusive milk diet, 
one is apt to gradually become anaemic. The new- 
born infant is stocked up, so to speak, with iron when 
it arrives in the world, and this excess serves the 
needs of its body until it begins to take other food. 
Another constituent of milk that plays an important 
role as a preventive of scurvy and rickets is citric 
acid in combination with calcium. It is present in 



CHfiWS 

- . g . tasteless 

Iters salt m s< mc way, 

ed milk j 

5 per a k is water, 

5 it t 
5 freqtK .."..-.■:'- 

great thestreng 

5 change in its 
■ resei ts - 
tage cca 
k 

& set is bso- 

e excess tein i 

■ - ■ ' Dg g Qganima 

wecln- 

t 88 per < fces milk 

g" the solids Caloric 

■ -■ 

. , I ... r.r.e> . 

... 

s med. As 
si . It of the 

se excess is most as 

& excess ..need by a cai 



CHEMISTRY OF SPECIAL POOE8. 33 

(Irak- the difficulty is ai once removed, and the natural 
instincts of appetite have seized upon such combina- 
tions as favorite dishes; such arc bread and milk, rice 
and milk, corn starch and milk, etc. How much 
this reduces the hulk of one's diet is illustrated by 
this: 

Milk — Nine pints (same as 9 pounds) 3,000 C. 

Bread and milk — Two loaves bread and 2 pints 
milk (.| pounds) 3,276 C. 

The milk-alone diet weighs about 9 pounds, the 
bread and milk about .) pounds, and yet the latter 
reaches a higher Calorie value and does not encum- 
ber the tissues with an overplus of the crystalline prod- 
ucts of nitrogenous metamorphoses. 

Effects of Heat. — When milk is boiled a tough skin 
forms upon it ; this consists of a coagulable albumin 
that exists in milk in small quantity (one-seventh of 
total protein), called lactalbumin, of lime salts and a 
little of the casein. At the same time the milk ac- 
quires a peculiar taste and loses some of its nutritive 
value, which, to a certain extent, makes it inadequate 
for the needs of infants. The application of heat, 
then, changes its taste, coagulates the lactalbumin, 
injures the fine einulsification of the fat and renders 
the casein less easy of digestion ; it also probably 
throws the citrate of lime partially out of solution- 
Thus, with the view of freeing milk from harmful 
bacteria possibly present, the attempt has been re- 
peatedly made to raise children upon sterilized milk, 
and almost always with disastrous results. Consider- 
ing these facts, Hutchinson is putting it too strong 
when he u looks forward to the day when the drink- 



34 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

ing of raw milk will be considered as barbarous a cus- 
tom as the eating- of raw meat is at the present daw 1 ' 

Condensed Milks. — There are two varieties of con- 
densed milks on the market, one sweetened and the 
other unsweetened. The first contains from 15 to 17 
per cent, of milk sugar and 33 to 40 per cent, of cane 
sugar. The latter, which is much the better, con- 
tains the 16 per cent, of milk sugar only. Both are 
used largely for infant feeding, but are not to be 
recommended except for temporary use. Infants 
raised on this food may seem to thrive for a time, and 
often become quite fat (owing to the excess of sugar), 
but offer little resistance to disease and are often 
rachitic. 

Buttermilk. — This is practically the same in com- 
position as skim milk. It contains all the protein 
and all the carbohvdrate, and is lacking- onlv in the 
fat, which has been removed by churning. It offers 
a very cheap and should be a very useful source of 
protein, but is usually devoted in this country to the 
fattening of pigs. The sourness is due to the pres- 
ence of lactic acid, winch is present in small amount, 
usually less than 1 per cent. It is an excellent diu- 
retic and causes a free flow of urine ; eight ounces of 
buttermilk drunk just before retiring will, for a time 
at least, cause an increase of considerably more than 
its own volume in the twenty-four hours' urine, with- 
out any other change in the habits. After the small 
amount of lactic acid is removed by digestion, the 
calcium, potassium and sodium salts that it contains 
equally with fresh milk should render it an excellent 
solvent for uric acid, and thus a purifier of the tissues. 



SPECIAL CHEMISTRY OF FOODS. 35 

The free use of buttermilk has lately been advocated 
by good authority as a great prolonger of life. Al- 
though one would not suspect it, it not infrequently 
seems to inhibit fermentation in cases of gastric ca- 
tarrh. 

The Milk Cure. — Among the many diet cures that 
have been advanced of late years is the milk cure. 
It consists of a course of from three to six weeks of 
an exclusive milk diet. It was recommended cen- 
turies ago for gout and some other diseases of a 
chronic nature. The milk should be skimmed, should 
be quite fresh, not cooked in any way and slowly con- 
sumed, so that, although there can be no chewing, 
yet there should be insalivation. The directions usu- 
ally given are that six ounces should be sipped every 
three or four hours of the sixteen waking hours, for a 
few days, and then the quantity increased to eight, 
and finally to a larger quantity, until five or six pints 
are consumed in each twenty-four hours. The re- 
sults are some drowsiness, slight pallor, a furred 
tongue, constipation and a free flow of pale, slightly 
greenish urine. 

There is hardly a fanciful idea under the heavens 
that has not been tried and recommended as a cure- 
all, at some time in the history of the world. The 
milk cure is not a cure for anything that abstinence 
from all food will not cure many times quicker. Ab- 
stinence from all food except water will do everything 
that the milk cure can do, and will do it much more 
quickly, without a furred tongue, drowsiness or any 
of the other unpleasant symptoms that arise from an 
exclusive diet of skimmed milk. 



36 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



CHEESE. 

This, being a milk product, may properly be con- 
sidered here. m Cheese consists of the casein and but- 
ter of milk, and the composition of an average Ameri- 
can cheese may be stated as one-third protein, one- 
third fat and one-third water. 

It is therefore a strong or concentrated nitrogenous 
food, but owing to this concentration, not easily di- 
gested. The older, dryer and harder it is, the less 
difficult is its digestion and absorption. 

A new soft cheese tasks the strongest stomach, un- 
less well mixed with other less concentrated foods. 

A pinch of sodium bicarbonate greatly aids the 
digestive organs to dispose of it. 

EGGS. 

Next to milk, eggs are the most wonderful food- 
stuff in the world. Just as milk contains every va- 
riety of nutritive constituent for the newly born ani- 
mal necessary to augment its size to treble, with the 
due proportion of all its numberless tissues, so an egg 
contains histogenetic elements in such a complete 
form that within its two ounces of smooth homoge- 
neous slime lies the possibility of a new life. It is a 
concrete miracle, but because of its everyday occur- 
rence it fails to raise our admiration. Out of the 
amorphous, structureless jelly, without extraneous 
addition, the chick, organized from marrow to cuticle 
— muscle, feathers, bones, blood and vessels — springs 
into life and separate existence. It is not food for 
the chick ; it is the chick. The absence of carbo- 



EGGS. 37 

hydrates is noticeable, and goes far to confirm their 
close relation to muscular motion. 

The average weight of a hen's egg is two ounces, 
about ii per cent, of which is shell, 57 per cent, white 
and 32 per cent. yolk. It is not so perfect a food as 
milk, for it lacks entirely that important source of 
energy, carbohydrate ; this is because this principle is 
the chief source of muscular movements, and within 
the narrow confines of the shell there is practically no 
movement. 

The shell is composed chiefly of lime carbonate and 
is not nutritive. 

The white is a solution of pure albumin, the purest 
in nature. It consists of 85 to 88 per cent, of water, 
12 per cent, protein, with scarcely any fat or minerals. 
It is practically a saturated solution of albumin. The 
small amount of mineral matter is potassium and 
sodium in combination with sulphur, chlorine and 
carbonic acid as sulphates, chlorides and carbonates. 
There is no sulphate and little chlorides in the yolk, 
but much phosphorus and lime. 

The yolk is very complex in composition ; from it 
the nervous system of the chick is developed. It con- 
tains 15 or 16 per cent, of protein, 32 or 33 per cent, 
of fat in the shape of a clear yellow oil. The oil con- 
sists of olein, palmitin and stearin and, owing to its 
fluidity and fine emulsification, is one of the most di- 
gestible forms of fat. It has been used with success 
in the nourishment of infants. A part of this fat is 
in the form of lecithin, a viscid, phosphorized oil, also 
containing nitrogen. This peculiar and priceless sub- 
stance exists only in very small quantity in cereals 



3S CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

and legumes, in brain tissue and nerve substance. 
Nuclein is also present, and mineral matter, including 
the salts of iron, in much larger proportion than in 
the white. The element phosphorus found in the 
lecithin and in the nuclein amounts to I per cent, of 
the entire interior of the egg. Cerebrin, one of the 
constituents of the human brain, of unknown func- 
tion and nutritive value, is present in the yolk; it 
contains nitrogen, but no phosphorus. The peculiar 
value of the yolk of egg is the large amount of phos- 
phorus and iron it contains in organic combination, 
and hence in an easily absorbable form. Seven egg 
yolks daily would supply all the iron required by a 
man of average weight. 

One egg yields about 75 Calories of energy ; eight 
eggs are about equal in nutritive value to one pound 
of steak. The white is a builder and restorer of tis- 
sue after muscular labor. The yolk is far more val- 
uable ; this is owing to its great richness in iron, lime 
and phosphorus. It is a food of special value to 
chlorotic girls and to anemic persons in general. The 
yolk comes as near to a special nerve and brain food 
as any that exists. The whole egg, that is the white 
and the yolk, is an ideal restorative for cases of 
anemia due to suppuration, such as pulmonary tuber- 
culosis. Combined with starchy food, such as rice, 
potato or white bread, eggs form a complete food. 

MEAT. 

The consumption of meat per capita has been grad- 
ually increasing in the United States for many years, 
until now this is the largest meat-consuming country 
in the world. 



MEAT. 39 

The value of meat as food depends upon its protein, 
fat and salts. The important food principle, carbo- 
hydrate, is entirely lacking in its composition. The 
use of meat as a food is a bone of contention ; those 
who agree on every other article of diet differ widely 
when it comes to meat. Extremists claim it is a 
poisonous food, high in price, deleterious to health 
and morals, productive of gout, rheumatism and can- 
cer. To show that it is not necessary to the highest 
vigor, they point to the rice-eating Japanese and how 
they recently shamed the meat-eating Russians in 
efficiency, endurance and courage. 

Those who take the opposite view show its nutri- 
tious constituents, its digestibility, its complete ab- 
sorption and the enterprise and activity of meat-eating 
nations. They point out that the Japanese consume 
a large proportion of fish to balance their rice, which 
explains their remarkable endurance. 

So far as physiological argument goes, it seems 
that the vegetarians have the best of it. All the pro- 
tein, fat, salts and carbohydrates that the body needs 
may be derived from the products of the vegetable 
kingdom. It is true that, if the old dietary standards 
are followed, a greater bulk of vegetable food must be 
eaten to furnish the required amount of protein, but 
if the latest and undoubtedly correct standards are 
followed, this objection will be in large part removed. 

This book is not an advocate of vegetarianism, but 
it is an advocate of the principle that we should de- 
rive our muscular force and bodily heat rather from 
carbohydrates than from protein, and this involves a 
reduction in the amount of meat, though not absti- 
nence from it. 



40 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



The bone, gristle, tendon and inedible portion of 
meat amounts on an average to 15 per cent. The 
analysis of the edible portion of beef gives the follow- 
ing results : 





Water. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Ash. 


Fuel Value 
Per Pound. 


Sirloin (lean). . . 
Sirloin (fat) . . . 
Chuck Ribs (me- 
dium fat) . . . 
Round 


70.8 

54-7 
62.7 

65.5 


24.O 
17.5 

18.5 
20.3 


3-7 

27.6 

18. 
13. 


O.OO 
O.OO 

O.OO 
O.OO 


1-3 

•9 

1. 
1. 


6.5 

1490 

1 105 
950 



The protein of meat is of such a nature that it is 
easily broken down by the digestive fluids, with the 
rapid liberation of heat and energy. On account of 
this, and probably also because the products of its 
breaking down act as stimulants to the cells, it pro- 
duces a feeling of w r ell-being and capability. Its stim- 
ulating effect is most strikingly noticed in those un- 
accustomed to its use, when it produces a state of 
nervous excitement almost amounting to intoxication. 
These qualities make it the most effective food for 
short, sharp, severe exertion, and justify its use in 
training for athletic events, although not to the ex- 
tent used by many trainers. Excessive meat con. 
sumption is the most common cause of athletes be- 
coming " stale ; ,} that is, it takes a man to the acme 
of his capacity for severe exertion, but cannot hold 
him there for more than a brief period. It is part of 
the trainer's art to lead up to this ''feather-edge" con- 
dition, so that it will coincide with the day of the 
fight or race. Such training is done at the expense 
of the future health. The objection to eating meat 
to such an extent that the most of one's energy is de- 



MEAT. 41 

rived from it, is that a certain part of its nitrogenous 
constituents, being hard and crystalline, are difficult 
to eliminate. They may slowly accumulate in the 
system, causing nodes and deposits, or they may fall 
out of solution, causing an acute attack of gout, or 
they may be eliminated, gradually producing damage 
to the delicate structure of the kidneys, causing 
Bright's disease. The purin bodies, xanthin, sarcin, 
adenin and uric acid, are contained in the flesh and 
glands of animals, and when introduced into the body 
as flesh foods are mostly oxidized to and eliminated 
as uric acid, a hard, gritty, insoluble crystalline acid. 
The solution of this in the fluids of the body is greatly 
favored by their alkaline reaction. Meat eating not 
only introduces them but, by reducing the alkalinity 
of the blood, throws out of solution those previously 
introduced and accumulated. 

The question of training for athletic events is not 
settled yet. Practical trainers, looking to the prepa- 
ration for a single great exertion, such as a prize fight, 
are in favor of meat, but they may be in error even 
for that purpose ; indeed, the most reliable experi- 
ments that have been made — those at the Yale Uni- 
versity — rather point the other way. It is certain 
that the amounts of protein consumed by Americans, 
in the form of meat, is very far in excess of what 
nature requires for the repair of waste. Of the various 
meats, beef is the easiest of digestion, pork the least 
so. Immature meats, like veal and lamb, are less 
digestible than beef. There is only about 5 per cent, 
unabsorbed, so that a meat diet leaves a very small 
residue for the intestine to handle. 

4 



42 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



FISH. 

Fish, like meat, furnish protein and fat, but no car- 
bohydrate. As a rule, fish are more easy of digestion 
than meat, and are equally well absorbed. Two spe- 
cial qualities have been attributed to fish. One is 
that they are an especial food for the brain, and the 
other that a fish diet possesses aphrodisiac properties. 
The first idea was formulated theoretically by Agassiz 
upon an erroneous analysis. The second was main- 
tained by Brillat-Savarin, one of the greatest epicures 
that ever lived. 

Experience of several observers seems to show that 
a meal of fish does increase the animal propensities, 
and this is especially true of caviar, the roe of the 
Russian sturgeon, a fact which one may bear in mind 
in cases of sexual weakness. In countries near the 
sea, fish generally form the cheapest source of protein 
in existence. 

The constituents of some of the important food fish 
in the fresh state is shown in the following table : 





Water 


Protein. 


Fat. 

•4 

8.1 
4.2 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Ash. 


Fuel Value 
Per Pound. 


Cod Fish 

Salmon 

(entrails removed) 

Mackerel . . 


82. 

48.1 
40.4 


16.5 

I3.8 
I0.2 


O.OO 

O.OO 
O.OO 


1.2 

.8 

•7 


325 

600 
365 



OVSTERS. 



Oysters are one of the most popular of sea foods, 
especially in the United States. They share with 
milk the distinction of containing all the nutritive 



VEGETABLE FOOD. 



43 



principles, though fat is only slightly represented. 
They may be said to be water slightly gelatinized by 
organic matter. They contain the following propor- 
tions of food constituents : 



Oysters 
(without shells) . 



Water. 


Protein. 


Fat. 

i-3 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Ash. 


88.3 


6. 


3-3 


I.I 



Fuel Value 
Per Pound. 



230 



They possess the advantage of being easily digested- 
The irregular, blackish portion in the belly of the 
oyster is the liver, and is almost self-digesting when 
broken up and mixed with the other tissues. Being 
merely a soft, gelatinous mass of organic matter, oys- 
ters are peculiarly liable to decomposition, with the 
occasional production of poisonous ptomains. The 
green discoloration which sometimes excites the sus- 
picion of housekeepers is not so bad as it looks, being 
caused by harmless green algae. 



VEGETABLE FOOD. 

The vegetable kingdom furnishes all the elements 
of food in cheaper form than meat and without the 
undesirable excess of protein. The predominant feat- 
ure of vegetables is the large proportion of carbohy- 
drates, a feature which offers a striking difference to 
animal flesh, which contains practically no carbo- 
hydrate. 

Vegetable foods are digested more largely in the 
intestines than meat. They are more bulky and, as 
a rule, less completely absorbed. It is a strong point 
in their favor that the various food constituents are 



44 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

all represented in them, and in many vegetables in a 
well-balanced proportion. 

In regard to the protein of vegetables, it has been 
and that the larger the per cent of it the more per- 
;:ly it is absorbed, and . a. Experience and 

ilogy show that endurance for steady, long- eon- 
tinned effort is best furnished by vegetable food, while 
meat better supplies the power for a short but intense 
•rt. Compare the restless, nervons, irritable ae- 
the meat-eating tiger with the sluggish move- 
ments of the mild-. granivorous cow, and yon will 
see an embodied type of the two die 

U.S. 

ains form the basis of bread, and bread is 
E human nutrition, the real staff of life. 
The importance of cereals rests in the fact that they 
1 their preparations furnish the chief food constitu- 
hydrates, fat and minerals, cheaply, 
abundantly and in an agreeable form. These quali- 
ties, together with their complete absorption, place 
them in the front rank of human foods. 

In some c 3 rice and Indian corn, car- 

bohydrate predominates, making; them prominent 
energy producers. In others, such as ats and Indian 
corn, t isiderable quantity of fat present mak 

them powerful heat producers. In all cereals the use- 
ful th ible proportion of protein enables them 
to fun the elements necessary for the repaii of 
tissue waste. 

Wheat is a representative and the most important 
of the class. The glntinosity of its protein peculiarly 



CEREALS. 



45 



adapts it to the making of light, porous bread, and 
the well-balanced proportion of its constituents makes 
it a nearly complete food. Barley is one of the most 
ancient of human foods. It was highly esteemed by 
the athletes of ancient Greece. The amount of mois- 
ture in cereals varies but slightly and averages about 
11 per cent. The general composition of cereals may 
be summed up as follows : 
Water . . . .... .11 per cent. 

Protein 11 " " 

Carbohydrates ... 69 " " 

Fat 2.5" " 

Minerals 2 " " 

The averages of a vast number of analyses of dif- 
ferent cereals made by the United States Department 
of Agriculture is as follows : 



y 2 to 8 per cent.) 



Water 

Protein 

Fat 

Cellulose (In- 
digestible) . 

Carbohy- 
drate... 

Ash 

Calorie value 







d 




+i 




T3 


-»-> 






r-, 


<a 




v . 


aJ 




c 


V 


u 


i> 


X. V 


A 


rt 


SO 


u 


Si~ 


>. 


V) 


O 


n3 
C 
>— < 

10 75 


pq 


cq 


10.50 


■3 3 


10.60 


10. 


10.85 


12. 


12.40 


12.25 


12. 


10. 


11. 


10.75 


12.25 


750; 


1-75 


4-50 


4-25 


2.25 


2. 


1.50 


0.40 


2.40 


12. 


i-75 


3-85 


10.75 


2.10 


0.40 


71-25 


58. 


71-75 


6945 


62.75 


7'-75 


78.80 


1-75 


3 50 


1.50 


2.50 


1 75 


1.90 


0.50 


1675. 


1850. 


1730. 


1640. 


1660. 


1630. 


1630. 



or* 

c 

P 



12.00 
8.00 
2 00 



76.00 
i. 00 



1630. 



Averages are useful, but the reader should be care- 
ful not to apply them too rigidly to any particular 
sample. The protein of wheat, for instance, may run 
as high as 17.15 per cent., as in one sample grown in 
Nebraska, or fall as low as 8.58 per cent., as in one 
sample from Oregon, although these are unusual ex- 



46 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

:nes. The fat of Indian corn may, in a particular 
sample, reach almost S per cent. It may be stated in 
general that the cereals of the United States arc the 
freest from moisture of any in the world. 

Flour and Meals. — Before using cereals for food, 
they are ground to a powder. When reduced to an 
impalpably tine powder the product is called flour, 
while the term meal is usually applied to the coarser 
products. 

The result of grinding is that certain desirable por- 
tions of the grain are lost, in company with some im- 
purities that it is well to lose. A little over one-half 
of the mineral matter is lost, and as these elements 
(especially the lime, potash and phosphorus") play an 
important role in the growth of tissue, it is better for 
children to eat bread made from the coarser flour than 
from the pure white, highly refined flour. 

The large financial interests involved in the pro- 
duction of wheat-flour have resulted in more refine- 
ments in the j 3 during twenty-five years than 
ten centuries of purely scientific interest would have 
produced. Twenty-five years ago the wheat was 
simply crushed between stones and separated by bolt- 
ing or sifting into three products, /. c\, bran, flour and 
middlings. All the impurities were contained in 
these three grades. At the present time eighty-eight 
separate products arc obtained by successive purifica- 
tions, screenings and separations and the various qual- 
ities of commercial flour produced by judicious blend- 
ing of these products. 

The three scant pages in which the United States 
Department of Agriculture, under the direction of H. 



BREAD. 47 

W. Wiley, has recorded the results of the analysis of 
each of these eighty-eight products are probably the 
most laborious pages of literature in the world. 

It has been shown that a little more than 258 
pounds of a good quality of winter wheat yield one 
barrel of flour, 57.82 per cent, of which is patent flour; 
11.28 per cent, is the so-called bakers' flour, and 6.77 
per cent, is low-grade flour. 

The patent flour is the high grade ; the two others 
in various mixtures or blends are sold under the 
names of Family, Bakers' or Red Dog flours. Beside 
the above there are 25 per cent, of bran, shorts and 
waste. 

BREAD. 

Bread made from high-grade patent flour is the best 
for those engaged in outdoor labor. Graham, whole- 
wheat and the coarser breads are better for those en- 
gaged in sedentary mental occupations. The first is 
more completely absorbed, and the high content of 
carbohydrate makes it a good food for the muscles. 
The constipating tendency of the small intestinal 
residue is overcome by the active life. There is 
enough nitrogen in the patent flour, aided by an 
occasional egg or small piece of steak or cheese, to 
supply protein abundantly to make up the tissue 
waste. 

The greater residue of the coarse bread tends to 
prevent the constipation of sedentary workers. These 
are also better for growing children. There is a won- 
derful amount of strength in bread for labor. The 
abstemious laborers of Spain maintain in their lean 



48 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

bodies a high degree of endurance and vigor upon 
bread, often very stale, and a little dry cheese made 
from goats' milk and water. A frugal diet that would 
excite the scorn of the better fed American. 

Especial care should be taken to see that bread is 
good in quality, for it is in many poor families the 
largest part of the diet and the main food of the chil- 
dren. The coarser flours show a higher proportion of 
protein, ash, fat and fiber, although the color of the 
bread is darkish and the gluten of a character not 
adapted to making a very light bread. 

The coarse bread is also the best for sedentary indi- 
viduals who use their brains a good deal. The 
slightly increased amount of phosphorus serves as a 
stimulant to the internal processes, and the larger in- 
soluble residue serves to increase the peristaltic move- 
ments of the bowels and thus obviate, in a measure, 
the constipating effect of lack of exercise. The term 
low grade, when applied to flour, does not mean poor 
flour or one of an essentially inferior quality. It is a 
trade name for a dark family flour making a cheap, 
sweet, palatable and nutritious loaf, inferior to patent 
flour bread in the single quality of whiteness. 

Two-thirds of the bulk of fermented bread is gas ; 
of the solid residue about 40 per cent, is water. A 
little more than 50 per cent, is carbohydrate and there 
should be from 7 to 8 per cent, of protein, leaving 2 
per cent, evenly divided between fat and minerals. 

This shows bread to be one of the least watery of 
vegetable foods. Home-made bread is a very variable 
product, owing to the reluctance of the American 
house-wife to use scales and measures. From an eco- 



BREAD. 49 

nomical standpoint, it is much cheaper than bakers' 
bread but it may be better or worse in quality accord- 
ing to the skill of the housekeeper. Allowing for the 
higher prices paid for smaller quantities, five pounds 
of the best patent flour will make about seven and 
one-half pounds of excellent bread at a cost of 23 
cents, as the following formula shows : 

5 pounds Flour. . . .18 

405 grains Yeast 02 

40 fl. ozs. Water — 

180 grains Salt \ 
480 grains Butter / 
Fuel (Gasoline ) 01 

•23 

If the flour is bought by the large bag or barrel, 
the cost would be reduced from 23 to 18 cents. The 
same amount of bakers' bread would cost 38 to 50 
cents, according to whether pound loaves or 12-ounce 
loaves were sold. The latter weight is now legal in 
Chicago. 

Salt-Rising Bread is very much preferred by 
many palates, but is rather more difficult to make 
successfully. Many of the failures are due to the fact 
that the modern patent flours contain little or none of 
the natural ferments of the grain, as did the flour that 
our mothers used. To overcome this difficulty, either 
the so-called low-grade flour must be used, or else a 
little whole wheat flour or corn meal must be used to 
start the fermentation. We have found the following 
process, recommended by the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture in Part Ninth of Bulletin 13, to 
make a very delicious bread. 

One-quarter pint of milk is slowly heated to near 
the boiling point, but not allowed to boil. This ster- 



50 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

ilizes it and prevents premature or undue sourness in 
the yeast. When the temperature falls to blood heat, 
enough Indian corn is mixed in to make a batter. 
The vessel is wrapped with several thicknesses of 
paper and set in a warm place for about six hours. 
The mixture should now look lively with bubbles 
and have a peculiar odor, which one soon learns to 
recognize. 

This is the ferment ; now stir a teaspoonful of salt 
into one pint of warm water (ioo° F.) and enough of 
patent flour to make a stiff batter, add the corn mix- 
ture and allow the whole to stand in a warm place for 
an hour or more. This is the salt rising ; this is 
mixed with enough of warm patent flour dough to 
make six loaves, well kneaded, moulded into six 
loaves, and set in a warm place until each pan is full 
and baked. The taste, once gratified by this bread, 
is seldom satisfied with any other. To succeed, it is 
absolutely essential that a uniform blood heat be 
maintained through the whole process of mixing and 
raising until it is put in the oven. 

Indian Corn. — In all parts of the United States, 
corn forms a considerable proportion of the food of 
the people. In the South, it makes the only form of 
bread ever tasted by thousands. 

Of the important cereals, it is the weakest in pro- 
tein, but among the strongest in carbohydrate and 
fat. The amount of silica in its ash is remarkably 
small. In Calorie-value it is superior to wheat and 
better adapted to the winter season, though owing to 
its lower protein and mineral content, is not so well 
adapted to growing children as wheat. 



BREAD. 51 

Barley. — One of the most ancient of human foods, 
highly prized by the athletes of Greece. It is not 
used in the United States to any great extent as a 
cereal food for man, though often found as an ingre- 
dient in soups. Of all the cereals, it has the highest 
malting power and hence is largely used in the brew- 
ing of malt liquors. The few barley flours in the 
market have been found to be very starchy and low 
in protein, fat and ash. This is owing to the rejec- 
tion of the germ and outer envelope in the process of 
milling. On this account infant foods made from 
decorticated barley are apt to make fat babies with 
flabby tissues and are not to be commended. Prepa- 
rations of the whole grain make an excellent, com- 
plete food. The refuse from brewing, if properly 
dried and preserved, forms a valuable cattle food, 
notwithstanding the wide-spread prejudices to the 
contrary. 

Buckwheat is one of the weakest foods of this class, 
although the highest in price. In the form of pan- 
cakes it constitutes a favorite American breakfast. 
The flour is remarkable for the large per cent, of in- 
digestible cellulose which it contains ; this is also re- 
sponsible for its characteristic dark color. 

Owing to its relative high price, buckwheat is the 
most extensively adulterated of all flours. Any white 
flour may be given the necessary dark color by the 
admixture of a little rye and the detection of such 
adulteration is extremely difficult by any chemical or 
microscopic test, although not beyond the reach of a 
cultivated palate. The syrup eaten on buckwheat cakes 
and the sausage generally eaten with them, increase 



52 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD 

both the protein and carbohydrates to such an extent, 
that so eaten it makes a complete food. It is better 
for constipated and sedentary people than fine, white 
bread and hence makes a more nutritions breakfast 
than the usual coffee and roll of American restau- 
rants. Owing probably to the large proportion of 
crude fiber, buckwheat frequently causes an itching 
rash. 

Oats is one of the strongest of grains, ranking high 
in protein, highest in fat and minerals, but lowest in 
digestible carbohydrate. Like buckwheat, it con- 
tains much crude fiber and sometimes irritates sensi- 
tive skins ; it is also the most prone of all cereals to 
produce sour stomach. The proportion of its con- 
stituents makes it a strong tissue builder and hence an 
excellent cereal food for children and for the repair of 
tissue waste in adults ; its one objection (which is 
common to all cereals) is that, being prepared as a 
pultaceous mass, it offers nothing for the teeth to act 
upon and hence is a strong provocative to hasty swal- 
lowing. Its protein is not tenacious, like that of 
wheat, and hence it is incapable of producing a light, 
porous or vesiculated bread. The unleavened oat 
cake contains twice as much tissue reconstructive and 
heating material as fine, light, white bread. Pigs 
fattened on oats, while apparently sound and well- 
grown, furnish a rather bitter and win- pork, very 
different from corn-fed or barley-fed pigs, a difference 
for which there seems to be no good reason in the 
chemical constituents. 

Rye. — The analysis of rye shows it to be worthy of 
the high place among foods given to it by the German 



PEAS, BEANS, LEN1ILS. 53 

race. It ranks next to wheat in protein and equals 
Indian corn in carbohydrate, but these good qualities 
are more reduced by milling than is the case with 
wheat. Its protein lacks some of the tenacity of 
wheat gluten, although it greatly exceeds that of oats ; 
rye bread is therefore apt to be heavy and sour. Rye 
has a large use in the manufacture of whisky. An 
objection to rye as a common food is its liability to 
be contaminated with the poisonous ergot. Pellagra, 
the leprosy 6f the Alps, once common in northern 
Italy, is the result of eating rye bread contaminated 
with ergot. Rye is weaker in phosphoric acid than 
wheat, 

Rice. — In this cereal, starchy matters predominate, 
with a corresponding weakness in protein, ash and 
fat. The granule of the rice starch is a very minute 
one and hence easily digested. Rice is distinguished 
by complete absorption, leaving a very small residue 
in the bowel. It is capable of sustaining the system 
well under the strain of severe muscular labor and 
out-door life, but is ill-adapted to those who follow 
sedentary occupations. The very large silicious ash 
of rice is probably due to the grains being cleaned 
and polished with quartz or some silicious stones. 

PEAS, BEANS, LENTILS. 

The characteristic of these leguminous foods is 
richness in protein. When the nutritive value is 
compared with the price, they are undoubtedly the 
cheapest of all foods, and on this account, may be 
called the "poor man's beef." Something less than 
two pounds of dry peas in 24 hours would satisfy all 



54 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



the demands of nutrition, but after a few days the 
palate would doubtless demand some break in the 
monotony. The composition of the three chief le- 
gumes is shown in the following table. The analyses 
were made in their ordinary dried state : 



Peas . 

Lentils 

Beans 



Water. 
[O. 

8. 

[2.6 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Cai bo- 
hydrate. 


Ash. 


24. 

25-7 
22.5 


I. 
I. 

i.S 


62. 

59- 
59- 


3- 
. 5-8 

3- 



Calories 
in a Pound. 



1655 
1620 

1605 



This shows the high rank of these excellent and 
economical foods. Lentils .are among the most highly 
nitrogenous of foods. A Hindoo proverb says: a Rice 
is good but lentils are my life." Their ash is large 
and rich in potash, phosphorus and iron. They con- 
tain less sulphur than cither beans or peas and hence 
are the least inclined of the three to cause flatulency. 
Beans contain the most sulphur and are the most 
flatulent. The protein of vegetables is the most diffi- 
cult of their constituents to absorb and in this respect 
lentils again rank the highest. About 10 per cent, 
of the protein of lentils is wasted, while peas lose 
from 10 to 15 per cent, and beans 25 or 30. It 
is to be hoped that these facts will gradually bring 
lentils into more general use as a nutritious and eco- 
nomical article of daily food. They may be boiled 
and served as a vegetable, with a salt and butter 
dressing, or used as rice and barley are used in soup. 

POTATOES. 
This is one of our standard vegetables, chiefly val- 



POTATOES. 55 

uable on account of its carbohydrate ; the amount of 
fat is inconsiderable, about i per cent. Protein is 
also very weakly represented. Potatoes are not there- 
fore a complete or well-balanced food, like wheat or len- 
tils, but they form a cheap and agreeable dish, supply- 
ing carbohydrate abundantly, as a balance to the meat 
that is usually eaten with them. If one were to de- 
pend upon potatoes alone for food, it would require a 
very large amount, something over 22 pounds, to sup- 
ply the 1 20 grams (four ounces) of protein demanded 
by the standard dietaries of Voit and Atwater. These 
standards are undoubtedly too high, as has been al- 
ready pointed out, and if any one was so situated as 
to be restricted to a potato diet, we would advise a no 
larger consumption than four pounds. This would 
avoid the immense over-supply of carbohydrate which 
22 pounds would involve, and would undoubtedly 
maintain the physical strength for a long time. The 
most economical method of cooking potatoes is to boil 
them in their skins. Boiled potatoes contain 75 per 
cent, water, 2.5 protein, .1 fat, 20. carbohydrate, 1. 
ash, and have a fuel value of 440 Calories to the 
pound. If potatoes are peeled, put into cold water 
and gradually brought to boil, the loss of nutrient is 
considerable. One bushel boiled in this way would 
lose an amount of nutritious matter, equivalent to one 
pound of lean steak. 

Potatoes contain a small amount of potassium 
citrate which adds to their antiscorbutic qualities. 
(See Note V.) 



56 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



TURNIPS. 



Turnip is a vegetable of weak nutrient power, but 
one for which many people have a decided liking. 
The proportion of water, as is the case with many 
vegetables, is surprisingly large. Turnips, cabbage, 
tomato, spinach and many other such foods, although 
firm, solid, bodies, contain more water than milk, 
which is a mobile liquid. 

It will probably be a surprise to many doctors to 
learn that turnip contains neither starch nor sugar. 
The 8 per cent, of carbohydrate present is in the form 
of pectose. There is 89. per cent, water, 1.3 per cent, 
protein and .8 per cent, minerals. Fuel value of one 
pound is 185 Calories. 

The flavor of turnips is peculiar and highly es- 
teemed by many people. As they contain little that 
would add sugar to the urine, they form a valuable 
food for diabetics, to a certain extent taking the place 
of potatoes. 

CABBAGE. 

Cabbage is a favorite vegetable with many people, 
especially those of the German race. It contains over 
90 per cent, water, about 2. of protein, .3 of fat, 6. of 
carbohydrate and 1.5 of ash, fuel value of a pound is 
145 Calories. Sliced raw and fortified with egg and 
vinegar dressing, is the most nutritious and digestible 
form in which cabbage can be eaten, for boiling not 
only removes a considerable proportion of its already 
small percentage of nutrients but also greatly pro- 
longs the time required for digestion. The fermented 



ONIONS. 57 

preparation known as Sauerkraut is slightly less nu- 
tritious, its fuel value equalling 125 Calories per 
pound. 

TOMATOES. 

Tomato is another favorite food in America, though 
less used in European countries. Though known as 
an ornamental plant for centuries, it has been used as a 
food for only about sixty years ; at the present time 
it is one of the most highly prized articles of food ; 
millions of cans of the preserved fruit are eaten an- 
nually. It contains 94 per cent, water, 1. of protein, 
.5 of fat, 4. of carbohydrate and .5 of ash. The fuel 
value of a pound is only 105 Calories. The acidity 
is due to citric acid, the acid of lemons and oranges. 
Cucumbers, carrots, spinach, belong to the same class. 
The latter is particularly rich in iron, and, with rad- 
ishes and asparagus, contains a considerable amount of 
lime. They are valuable, notwithstanding the small 
amount of nutrients in them, on account of their 
antiscorbutic and laxative properties ; the relatively 
large per cent, of minerals and free acid which they 
contain, makes them particularly grateful in hot 
weather, when acid perspiration is free. 

ONIONS. 

The peculiar, strong flavor of onions, produces both 
friends and enemies. Many are extremely fond of 
them, and many more are unable to eat any dish con- 
taining them. In addition to the usual constituents 
of green vegetables, they contain a volatile, organic 
sulphur compound, to which they owe their odor and 
taste. 

5 



58 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

They have a somewhat soothing effect, and when 
taken at dinner, generally conduce to an after-dinner 
nap. 

They also possess laxative properties upon many 
people. They impart a peculiar odor to the excre- 
tions, and increase the volume of urine. Eaten raw 
they frequently ameliorate and occasionally cut short 
an oncoming attack of coryza. (Note VI.) 

FRUITS. 

Judged strictly from a chemical standpoint, fruits 
would be oi little importance as food, owing to their 
low content of protein and fat. But judged from the 
delight which they afford the palate, from the eager- 
ness with which the unspoiled appetite of children 
welcomes them and the benefit which the encumbered 
system of heavy eaters derives from them, they would 
seem the most important of human foods. In truth, 
fruits are not to be judged so much by their chemical 
constituents as by the evidence of mankind in their 
favor. They contain from 85 to 92 per cent, of 
water, protein .3 to 1.5, fat .1 to 3., carbohydrate 2. to 
15., ash .2 to 1., free acid .5 to 7. They diminish the 
alkalescence of the blood and the acidity of the urine 
and possess useful laxative and antiscorbutic prop- 
erties. 

Notwithstanding the small amount of nutrients in 
this class of food there are people who live exclusively 
upon fruits and nuts, thus combining the me^st dilute 
and the most concentrated of foods. Some investiga- 
tions as to the result of an exclusive fruit and nut 
diet were made by Jaffa, of the University of Cali- 



FRUITS. 



59 



fornia. The subjects were a family of two women 
and three children who had subsisted for from five 
to seven years upon fruits and nuts alone. It was 
their habit to eat two meals a day, one at 10:30 A. m., 
consisting of nuts and fruits. The second at 5 p. m., 
consisting of fruit, olive oil and honey. The only 
food used besides fruits and nuts was olive oil, honey, 
celery and a small amount of prepared cereal. 

The first subject was a woman t>2> y ear s of age, five 
feet in height, weight 90 pounds. Experiments 
lasted 20 days. The results were : 



Cost Per 
Day. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Carbo- 
hydrate 


Crude 
Fiber. 


Calories. 


23.7 cts. 


33 
(IOZ.) 


59- 
(2 OZ.) 


no 
{y/ 2 ozs.) 


40 
[1*4 ozs.) 


1200 



The standard dietaries for a woman at light labor 
calls for 90 (three ounces) protein and 2,500 Calories. 

The second subject was a woman 30 years old, 104 
pounds. Experiments lasted 25 days. The results 



were: 



Cost Per 
Day. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Crude 
Fiber. 


Calories. 


17.2 cts. 


25 


57 


72. 


27 


1040 



This small amount of food seemed sufficient for her 
needs. 

The third subject, a girl of 13, weighing 75^ 
pounds, consumed : 



60 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



Cost Per 
Day. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Crude 
Fiber. 


Calories. 


19. cts. 


26. 


52. 


III. 


46. 


1235 



Standard dietaries call for a child of 13, 90. (three 
ounces) protein and 2,450 Calories. She had the ap- 
pearance of a well-fed child in excellent health and 
spirits. 

The brother of the last subject gave about the 
same results, but gained two pounds weight in 22 
days. 

The fifth subject was a girl of six, weighing 2> Ql A 
pounds. She had been very delicate as a baby and 
did not begin to thrive until a decoction of figs was 
added to the milk taken. She had never eaten any- 
thing outside of fruits and nuts, except olive oil, honey 
and a small quantity of green vegetables. She fre- 
quently craved lettuce. She was 10 pounds under 
the average weight and seven inches less than the 
average height. Her father was a small man and her 
mother and grandmother much below the average 
height and weight. (See Note VII.) During the 
study of 25 days she gained 2% pounds. 

Her diet contained much less protein than the 
standard dietaries require for a child of one to two 
years, yet she seemed perfectly well and was exceed- 
ingly active. 

If these results are compared with those obtained 
by Chittenden, instead of the old and erroneous Voit 
standard, they become much less striking and simply 
confirm the opinion that Chittenden is nearer right 
than Voit. 



FRUITS. 



61 



The two adults experimented upon above had lived 
upon this diet for seven years and they claimed to be 
in better health and capable of more work than they 
ever were before. The three children had the appear- 
ance of health and strength, they ran, jumped and 
played all day, though below the average in height 
and weight. When it is considered that the limited 
means of the family prevented them from eating as 
much as they would like to have, and that they 
gained in weight during the tests when given as 
much of their peculiar food as they wanted, it seems 
that their undersize was due to lack of food rather 
than to its character. 

They were unusually free from colds and other 
complaints of children. The analysis of the feces 
and urine in one of these subjects showed that there 
was very complete absorption and that, notwithstand- 
ing the fall of the protein below the usual standards, 
there was a daily gain of 13.7 grams (nearly y 2 ounce) 
in body weight. 

Fruits are relatively rich in minerals. The follow- 
ing list shows the average results of several analyses. 
The total ash contained the following proportions of 
the important elements : 





Potassium. 


Sodium. 


Calcium. 


Mag- 
nesium. 


Iron. 


Prunes . . . 
Apricots . . 
Oranges . . . 
Lemons . . 
Apples .... 

Peaches .... 


63. 

59- 
48. 

48. 
35- 
54. 

27. 


2.6 

10.0 

2.5 
1.7 

26. 

8. 
.2 


4.6 

3- 

22. 

29. 
4- 
7- 

8. 


5- 

3- 
5- 
4- 
9- 
5- 
17. 


2.7 

1.6 
•97 
•43 

1.4 

1. 
•55 



62 



CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



The total ash of fruits ranges from i per cent, in 
cherries to .2 per cent, in apples, cranberries and 
huckleberries. The above refers to the constituents 
of this ash. These minerals are in combination with 
organic acids, and as a rule there is more than enough 
of the latter to neutralize the bases, so that the over- 
plus, present as free acid, gives rise to the agreeable 
tartness so much esteemed in fruit. The free acid 
ranges from .1 per cent, in pears to 7 per cent, in 
lemons. 

Grapes. — On account of their importance as the 
source of wine and because the " Grape Cure " is still 
somewhat in vogue, this fruit deserves brief mention. 
Their composition from an average of five analyses is 
as follows : 



Water. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


Carbo- 
hydrate. 


Ash. 


Calories 
Per Pound. 


77-4 


1-3 


i.e. 


I9.2 


•5 


450. 



The grape cure is properly an exclusive diet of 
grapes, although it is often marred by the addition of 
other foods. The patient should do his own picking 
in the open air ; the skins, pulp and seeds should all 
be eaten and thorough insalivation should be secured 
by careful mastication. The absurd rule of eating 
eight pounds in 24 hours usually given should be dis- 
regarded ; if eaten slowly according to one's appetite, 
probably four pounds would never be exceeded. The 
result is excellent in heavy eaters with abdominal 
plethora and too much adipose. A laxative and 
diuretic effect is noticed and none of the disagreeable 
symptoms noticed under the milk cure occur. Grape 



NUTS. 



63 



juice, unfermented, is an agreeable, sub-acid beverage, 
containing considerable nourishment. It is very prone 
to fermentation and on this account often disagrees 
with weak digestions. 

NUTS. 

Nuts are among the most concentrated of foods, 
thus presenting a strong contrast to the water-con- 
taining fruits. Their richness in oil, carbohydrates 
and protein makes them extremely nutritious, but the 
very concentrated form in which they occur, also ren- 
ders them hard to digest. 

The Calorie value runs high ; almonds, cocoanuts 
and walnuts run up to plus 3,000 and peanuts over 
2,500. 

The composition of some of the principal nuts is 
shown in the following : 













Carbo- 




Calories 




Shells. 


Water. 


Protein. 


Fat. 


hydrate. 


Ash. 


Per Pound. 


Peanuts . 


24. 


9- 


25.8 


38.6 


24.4 


2. 


2.560 


Chestnuts 


16. 


45- 


6.2 


5-4 


42. 


1-3 


1. 125 


Cocoanuts 


37- 


3-5 


6-3 


57.4 


3i-5 


i-3 


3- I2 5 


California 
















Walnuts . 




2.5 


27.6 


56.3 


11. 7 


t-9 


'3- JOS 


Filberts . 


52. 


3-7 


15.6 


65. 


13- 


2.4 


3.296 


Almonds . 


45- 


4.8 


21. 


54-9 


17-3 


2. 


3-°3o 



The investigations of Jaffa, mentioned above, show 
that by means of nuts, in combination with fruits and 
a few simple vegetable productions, health and con- 
tentment may be maintained, without the use of cook- 
ery at all. These facts should commend themselves 
to those who are thinking of the simple life. 



64 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



COFFEE, TEA AND COCOA. 



It is not the nutritive value of these beverages that 
makes them so important, but rather their peculiar 
exhilarating and restorative effects, which are so 
striking, that they may be regarded as quasi-medicinal 
as well as dietetic. Coffee, tea and cocoa all owe their 
peculiar virtues to alkaloids; in the two former the 
effect is striking, but in the latter it is masked by 
the heavy nutritious fat and carbohydrate which cocoa 
contains. The three alkaloids, caffeine, theine and 
theobromine, belonging to the three beverages re- 
spectively, have a certain relation to each other and 
to the purin bodies. 

The purin bodies are nitrogenous compounds found 
in small quantities in almost all the tissues of the 
body. They are grouped around a hypothetical body 
called purin, which serves, so to speak, as a core for 
the others. Purin is C.N 4 H } . Uric acid is the most 
highly oxidized member of the series. The relation 
is here shown : 

Uric acid C, N 4 H i 3 

Xanthin C 5 N 4 H 4 2 

Hypoxanthin or Sarcin . . . . C. N 4 H 4 O 

These exist in all flesh foods : caffeine and theine, 
identical with each other, are tri-methylxanthine, 
that is, xanthine with three of its four hydrogen 
atoms cast out and replaced by methyl (CH 3 ) 

Theobromine is di-methyl-xanthine, that is, xan- 
thine with two of its four hydrogen atoms cast out 
and replaced by methyl (CH 3 ). 



COFFEE, TEA, AND COCOA. 65 

These beverages, therefore, belong to the uric acid- 
producing foods and should be used with judgment 
and not abused. 

Coffee is a pure mental stimulant ; it enables one 
to use all one's mental powers to the greatest advan- 
tage and is therefore of especial use to lecturers, ora- 
tors, writers and brain workers in general. Tea is a 
most potent restorative after physical fatigue or com- 
bined muscle and nerve exhaustion. Both are of 
most use to the aged, because they retard the waste 
of tissue, which is sure to occur in the declining years 
of life. 

Among the disadvantages are a slight retarding 
effect upon peptic digestion and a tendency to sleep- 
lessness. Idiosyncrasy plays an important role in tea 
and coffee drinking. They agree with some and not 
with others without any rational explanation. I have 
known coffee to produce decided urethral irritation 
in one individual. Tea in excess produces a fine 
trem ulation of the hands. 

Children should never be permitted to touch either 
coffee or tea, owing to the stimulating action which 
is deleterious to their tender and excitable nervous 
systems. Cocoa, on account of its richness in nutri- 
ents, makes an excellent corroborant, warm beverage 
for them ; it is especially appropriate in cold weather 
after exposure. 

Made in the Spanish fashion, very rich and sweet, 
it is apt to produce headaches, owing to the afflux 
of blood to the liver, necessary for its digestion. 
Drinking copiously of water immediately after taking 
chocolate will prevent this. It is more rational, how- 
ever, to dilute it before rather than after drinking. 



66 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



ALCOHOL. 

The use of alcohol as a food has been a subject of 
heated controversy for several generations. Some 
have claimed that it is a valuable food ; others have 
absolutely denied that it is a food at all, and both 
sides have been maintained with much acrimony. 
Atwater's recent experiments, made with very elabor- 
ate and accurate apparatus, show results that really 
favor the cause of temperance and the tenets of most 
temperance workers, but they have been stated in 
such a way as to appear unfavorable. 

Atwater's conclusions may be summed up thus : 

Alcohol in small quantity slightly increases the di- 
gestibility of protein and is without any effect upon 
the digestion of fat and carbohydrates. Alcohol in 
small quantity is more completely oxidized in the 
body than are the nutrients of ordinary food. 

Alcohol protects fats and protein from oxidation by 
furnishing the body the needed carbon. This only 
applies to moderate quantities. These points may be 
freely admitted by temperance advocates without the 
slightest injury to their cause, for, as Atwater admits, 
the action of alcohol as a poison is so potent that in 
any quantity it reverses the above conclusions. He 
says : " Alcohol appears also to exert at times a spe- 
cial action as a drug. In large quantities it is posi- 
tively toxic and may retard or even prevent metabol- 
ism in general and protein metabolism in particular." 

As to alcohol being a source of muscular energy, 
he goes on to say: ' ; Even with the small doses of 
these experiments there were indications that the sub- 



ALCOHOL. 67 

jects worked to slightly better advantage with the 
ordinary rations than with alcohol. The results of 
practical tests on a large scale elsewhere coincide with 
those of general observation in implying that the use 
of any considerable quantity of alcoholic beverages as 
a part of the diet for muscular labor is generally of 
doubtful value and often positively injurious." This 
is saying in a very hesitating, halting way, that alco- 
hol is injurious rather than beneficial when taken in 
any quantity. 

In regard to mental operations, Abel summarizes 
the effect of alcohol about as follows: 

1 Alcohol produces a tendency to premature and 
erroneous reactions ; the reactor often thinks that he 
is reacting more quickly than usual when he is in 
reality slower. It lessens the power of clear and con- 
secutive reasoning ; in many respects its action on 
the higher functions resembles that of fatigue of the 
brain." 

According to these two investigators, the first of 
whom excited the ire of temperance advocates, there 
is not much to be said in favor of alcohol as a food. 
There is no reason to. regard it of value either as a 
muscle food or as a heat producer. 

It is therefore hardly worthy of consideration as a 
food ; because, although a limited amount does decom- 
pose in the body and yield heat and energy, like ordi- 
nary non-nitrogenous food, yet its drug action is so 
evident and so potent that it far overbalances the 
nutritive value. When the blood is collected or con- 
gested into the internal organs and there is danger of 
a chill, alcohol will quickly bring the blood to the sur- 



68 CHEMISTRY OF FOCD. 

face and equalize the temperature. It expands the 
capillaries, it brings the blood from the internal or- 
gans to the surface, and without adding much heat to 
the total stock, it makes available what heat one has. 
Thus the use of alcohol at the proper time and in the 
proper dose may stop an incipient chill, may ward off 
an oncoming pneumonia, or may postpone the para- 
lyzing effect of cold for a time until shelter can be 
obtained. Alcohol comes to us as a beverage in vari- 
ous forms such as wine, dis-tilled spirit and malt 
liquor. 

Wines. — Wines vary in alcoholic strength from 
the 3 per cent, of light wines to the 25 per cent, of 
port. Whenever the alcoholic strength of any wine 
exceeds 13 per cent, spirit has been added to it. A 
naturally fermented liquor cannot contain more than 
that amount, for as soon as the alcoholic strength 
reaches 13 per cent, the process of fermentation stops. 

Wines are classified according to color as red or 
white, and according to character as generous, dry, 
sweet, sour, rough, light or sparkling. A generous 
wine is one with plenty of spirit ; it is sometimes 
called spirituous wine — port wine, for instance. A 
dry wine is one in which the sugar of the juice has 
been completely fermented and turned into spirit and 
carbonic oxide. Sauterne is an example. A sweet 
wine is one which still contains some unfermented 
sugar. Tokay or Somlauer are instances. A rough 
wine is generally a dry wine in which a little tannin 
from the grapes has imparted an astringent or austere 
taste. 

A sparkling wine is one which contains some car- 



ALCOHOL. 69 

botiic oxide dissolved, giving it an effervescent or 
sparkling appearance when opened to the air. 

All wines contain some free acid ; when a sufficient 
amount of free acid is present to affect the taste de- 
cidedly it is called a sour wine. Some of these quali- 
ties may be conjoined in a single wine : thus sherry is 
both generous and dry ; claret may be both dry and 
rough ; tokay is sweet and generous. Opposites, such 
as dry and sweet, however, cannot be combined in the 
same wine, although free acid and sugar may be con- 
joined as in champagne. 

Light wines do not improve after two or three years 
no matter how long they are kept. Strong wines 
with plenty of spirit and some free acid improve 
almost indefinitely by the very gradual formation of 
aromatic ethers from a reaction between the spirit and 
the acids. These form the so-called bouquet of wanes. 
Old wine may be worth its weight in gold in some 
cases of syncope after or during diphtheria, or in the 
asthenia of old age, or of severe exhausting disease. 
The minute quantity of the ethers mounts immedi- 
ately to the brain and nervous system and awakens 
new life before the alcohol has had time to be ab- 
sorbed. 

Children should have no wine as a beverage ; to 
them it should be a medicinal stimulant only. Adults 
in full health have seldom any need of it. It is a 
luxury, a gratification, an expander of the heart, to 
be used at feasts and in company. " Every inordi- 
nate cup is unblessed." 

To the aged, a dry, sound wine is a very useful 
medicinal agent for the waning powers, and there can 



70 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

be no objection to those in the decline of life making 
use of it, if found to agree. 

Tokay and somlauer wines (they are practically the 
same) have a special stimulating action upon the gen- 
erative powers, a feature which may find some ex- 
planation in the large proportion of phosphorus in 
their ash. 

Spirits or distilled liquors contain from 40 to 60 
per cent, of alcohol ; they have little or no free acid 
in them. Whisky, the favorite stimulant of the 
Americans, is made from grains of various kinds. 
Irish whisky often from potatoes. Gin is practically 
the same as whisky in alcoholic strength and origin, 
but has a decided and peculiar flavor as well as a con- 
siderable diuretic action from the oil of juniperus 
communis. This is imparted to it either by adding 
juniper berries to the mash or the volatile oil of juni- 
per to the distilled liquor. Rum is a spirit of 50 to 
55 per cent, strength, made from fermented molasses. 
Brandy, a spirit made from wine and the marc of 
grapes. 

None of these liquors should ever be administered 
undiluted. Largely diluted with water, they form a 
valuable, neutral stimulant, but owing to the high 
per cent, of spirit they produce the most disastrous 
consequences when habitually used to excess. Owing 
to the absence of acids, distilled liquors are less dele- 
terious to high livers than port wine or than the sour 
wines of Germany. 

Malt Beverages. — Malt liquors contain from 2 to 6 
per cent, of alcohol and have also the nutritive quali- 
ties of the soluble principles of malt. These prin- 



BUTTER AND BUTTERINE. 71 

ciples are carbohydrates. The maltose and the hops 
or other bitters so overbalance the slight proportion 
of alcohol that malt beverages can hardly be called 
true stimulants. 

All malt liquors have an acid reaction, which is 
due to lactic acid. There is no better formula for a 
miserable and painful old age than a rich nitrogenous 
diet and plenty of malt liquor. If a wretched old age 
is not attained it is only because the malt devotee dies 
before old age is attained. The substitution of wine 
for the malt is not any better. In the one case lactic 
acid retards the elimination of the nitrogenous debris, 
in the other tartaric acid. The use of pure malt 
liquors in moderation is an excellent soother for an 
irritable heart, for nervous, distracted states of mind 
and for excited conditions in general. The quali- 
ties of the three kinds of alcoholic beverages may be 
summarized as follows : 

Distilled liquors are pure stimulants, free from 
acidity. 

Wine is complex, nourishing, stimulating and cor- 
roborant. 

Malt liquors are soothing, calming, nourishing, 
only slightly stimulating. 

All of these are two-edged swords and capable of 
causing destructive degenerations, both psychical and 
histological, when abused by excesses. 

BUTTER AND BUTTERINE. 

Butter is the most digestible of fats, and the most 
delicate and delicious of them in flavor. Its per cent, 
of fatty acids, especially the volatile fatty acids, is so 



72 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

large that it can thereby be distinguished from all 
other fats. In those subject to acute gastritis, with 
headache and vomiting of butyric acid-smelling vom- 
itus, butter should be abstained from for a time. The 
usual cause of such attacks is overeating. Butterine 
is one of the wonders of art and shows how much 
more pecuniary interest will do in the development of 
a product than science alone. With the possible ex- 
ception of rice, which is scoured and polished and 
generally stored in bags, butterine is the cleanest and 
purest food in the world. It is made from the olein 
(oleo oil) of beef suet and neutral lard. The latter is 
made from the layers of fat of the pig, frozen imme- 
diately after removal, to quickly eradicate the animal 
heat, which is provocative of incipient decomposition 
and the cause of lard odors. It is then melted by 
steam coils in huge vats and some shovelfuls of pure 
salt skillfully scattered over it. Salt is entirely in- 
soluble in fat, and the descending particles carry with 
them all shreds and debris of membrane, tissue and 
blood, leaving it clear. This is then pumped or 
syphoned off through fine sieves, and forms the prod- 
uct known as neutral lard. 

Oleo oil and neutral lard, with a small admixture 
of fresh grass butter, constitutes butterine, a clean, 
wholesome food, which none need be afraid of using 
on the score of health. 

OLIVE OIL. 

Probably the most important of all vegetable oils. 
It is a fine, limpid, greenish-yellow liquid of a bland 
pleasant taste, and compared with other substances of 
its class, extraordinarily easy of digestion. 



DIET FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS. 73 

Many people take great delight in it, drinking one 
or two ounces a day and applying it freely to the skin. 
We have seen many meager, poorly nourished people, 
wonderfully benefitted by such treatment. 

In addition to its excellent nutritional qualities it 
is very beneficial to those predisposed to the forma- 
tion of gall stones. It has proved a great boon to 
patients afflicted with cancer of the throat enabling 
them to swallow after everything else had failed. 

It seems equally efficacious in the two opposite con- 
ditions of chronic dysentery and chronic constipation. 
Two ounces may be taken at a time and repeated 
three times a day. 

It is very necessary in these uses of olive oil, that 
it should be pure, and free from adulteration, as a 
very moderate amount of adulterant, such as cotton 
seed oil, produces indigestion immediately. 



DIET FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS. 

FOOD FOR INFANTS. 

No food for infants has been found to equal moth- 
ers' milk, and this has not been for any lack of trying 
to find substitutes for it. Dr. Brouzet, a celebrated 
French physician, thought so poorly of mothers that 
he wanted the state to interfere and forbid women 
from suckling their children, as the best means of 
6 



74 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

preventing disease and immorality, and Van Helmont, 
the leading chemist and physician of his age, seemed 
to attribute all onr diseases, if not our sins, to the 
inborn propensity for milk. He proposed to substi- 
tute bread boiled in beer and honey for milk, in the 
rearing of infants. These are shining examples of 
that scientific arrogance which is so prone to inflict 
its latest opinion upon mankind as nnerring truth. 

Mothers' milk is the only safe, natural and perfect 
food for infants ; there is and there can be no perfect 
substitute for it. It is complete in its composition 
and perfectly adapted by nature to the growth and 
nourishment of the new-born. Cemeteries have been 
tilled because, beinj; ignorant of this fundamental 
truth of nutrition, people have tried to substitute 
something "just as good" or "better" for the food 
designed by nature for that purpose. The vast ma- 
jority of deaths in children of one year and under are 
due to improper food substituted for mothers' milk by 
ignorant and careless parents. 

So large is the mortality of bottle-fed babies that 
one can come to no other conclusion than that the 
refusal or neglect of a mother to nurse her child, for 
any but the most necessary reasons, is little short of 
criminal. No considerations of personal convenience, 
nor of retaining the figure, nor of the requirements of 
fashionable life, render neglect of this duty, in the 
slightest degree, excusable. 

The following reasons for artificial feeding are legi- 
timate : When the mother has no flow of milk and 
cannot be made to have any ; when the child does 
not thrive and cannot be made to thrive bv intelli- 



DIET SOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS. 75 

gent effort to improve the quality of the milk ; when 
the mother is affected by some serious chronic disease 
(Bright's disease, epilepsy, tuberculosis, etc.) or when 
pregnancy occurs during nursing. Under these cir- 
cumstances there must of necessity be found some 
substitute for the natural food, and it becomes our 
duty to find the best substitute. The first thing is to 
avoid being taken in by the alluring advertisements 
of proprietary foods ; most of these foods are merely 
modifiers of cows' milk and incapable alone of sup- 
plying sufficient nourishment for a growing child. 
They are valueless without cows' milk and they add 
nothing to cows' milk that cannot be added at the 
home at one-fourth the cost. Every physician of 
moderate experience meets numbers of cases of 
scurvy, rickets and other forms of infantile ill health, 
caused by too great dependence upon some of these 
advertised foods. 

It is unfortunate that the money-making propensity 
of mankind has taken hold of this subject, and, by 
assiduous advertising, forced upon the attention of 
the public these proprietary foods as substitutes for 
mothers' milk. One of the bad results of this is that 
the public has been falsely educated to regard the 
substitution of patent preparations for the natural 
nourishment as rather a good thing for the baby, or 
at least a matter of indifference. 

Of the many preparations upon the market, some 
are moderately good, some are bad and most are more 
or less fraudulent, in that they pretend to be the main 
nourishment of the infant, when they are really only 
modifiers of cows' milk. They all agree in being ex- 



76 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

pensive, and not one is as good an infant food as can 
be made cheaply in the home. The chief fault of 
the proprietary foods, besides their cost, is deficiency 
in fat and a too great quantity of sugar and starch. 

Cows' milk, properly diluted and modified, is the 
best substitute for nursing. The differences between 
human milk and that of the cow are as follows: 

Human milk is alkaline, cows' milk is neutral or 
acid, human milk contains half as much protein as 
cows' milk, and its protein is about equally divided 
between the kind that is coagulable by heat and the 
kind that is coagulable by acids. In the milk of the 
cow there is one part of the first kind to seven parts 
of the latter. This makes a great difference in the 
character of the coagula of the two ; cows' milk forms 
large, solid, relatively indigestible curds; human milk 
coagulates in fine, easily digested flocculi. The com- 
position of the two milks is here shown side by side : 

Human milk. Cows' milk. 

Protein 2 per cent. 4 per cent. 

Sugar 7 per cent. 4 per cent. 

Fat 4 per cent. 4 per cent. 

Salts 2 percent. .7 per cent. 

Reaction Alkaline. Neutral or acid 

This shows the differences at a glance ; there is 
twice as much protein, half as much sugar, the same 
amount of fat and over three times as much mineral 
matter in cows' milk as in human milk, and the re- 
action is different. This puts in sufficiently strong 
light the fact that unmodified cows' milk is quite un- 
suitable for the nourishment of infants ; it also sug- 



MILK MODIFICATION. 77 

gests that by a very simple procedure it may be made 
quite similar to human milk. 

The addition of an equal volume of water will ren- 
der the amount of protein just about right and will 
reduce the minerals to a nearer approximation to 
mothers' milk. But this also reduces the fat to one- 
half and the sugar to one-quarter what they ought to 
be. The addition of cream and sugar then, in proper 
amount to the diluted milk, would bring up these two 
important principles to the normal standard of moth- 
ers' milk. From this it is seen that the modification 
of cows' milk consists in the addition of water, sugar 
and cream to that fluid. 

Before going into the details of modification it 
should be insisted upon that the cows' milk be fresh ; 
not over 24 hours should intervene between the cow 
and the baby. It should be from a herd rather than 
from one cow ; an average mixed herd is better, be- 
cause more apt to be free from disease than Jersey, 
Ayrshire or Alderney cows. It should be clean and 
free from foreign odors. 

The food of the cows should be clean grains and 
grass. There is no objection to malt refuse as a cat- 
tle food, if it is properly dried and preserved and due 
allowance made for the fact that part of its carbohy- 
drate is gone. The widespread prejudice against milk 
from cows fed upon malt refuse arises from the fact 
that a moist, sour and decomposed product is often 
used. 

MILK MODIFICATION. 

Milk nowadays is generally dispensed in cities and 
towns in wide-mouth, so-called quart bottles ; they 



78 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

often hold one ounce less than a quart, but they serve 
a very good purpose as a convenient measure for the 
household modification of milk. The milk as it is 
received, supposedly from the cow, may be called 4 
per cent, milk, the 4 per cent, here referring to the 
fat. When such a bottle is allowed to stand undis- 
turbed until the cream rises to the top, the upper 
third of it contains about 10 per cent, fat and may be 
referred to as 10 per cent, milk, while the upper half 
contains 7 per cent, fat and may be called 7 per cent. 
milk. The upper third and the upper half of such a 
quart bottle are the units used in the following form- 
ulas, and may be obtained either by decantatiou, that 
is, by carefully pouring off those parts of the contents 
of the bottles, or, more accurately, by using' a small 
dipper made for the purpose and sold for a tritle under 
the name of Chapin's dipper. As the necessity of 
using one-half and one-third of a bottle, and also for 
measuring 20 fluid ounces, continues for some time, 
it is in the interests of accuracy to paste a strip of 
paper half an inch wide from the bottom of one of 
these bottles to the top, and to mark it at the one- 
half, and also at the two-thirds or 20 fluid ounce 
heights. A little melted paraffin brushed rapidly 
while hot over the paper will prevent its being; 
washed off, when the bottle is cleansed. Such a 
marked bottle can be kept for a measure. The milk 
is allowed tc sti ad in its original container until the 

.1111 rises, and then it is poured or dipped off into 
the gra the desired mark. 

This plan of using the upper third or the upper 
half of a quart bottle, that is, 10 per cent, and ; per 



MILK MODIFICATION. 79 

cent, milk, is that which Holt recommends in his 
Diseases of Infancy and Childhood, and of the many 
methods that have been devised, it is the most satis- 
factory and successful for use in the home. 

After it has been determined that the mother can- 
not nurse her baby, for good and sufficient reasons, 
we must select such a modified milk as is adapted, so 
far as possible, to the age and condition of the infant. 
For infants of three months and under, upper third 
milk is used, according to the following formulas. 
If the child is of ordinary vigor and average size the 
following mixture may be used to start on : 

Milk sugar, i oz. (one rounded tablespoonful). 

Lime water, i oz. (two tablespoonfuls). 

Ten per cent, milk, 4 oz. (eight tablespoonfuls). 

Hot water enough to make the whole measure 20 
ounces. This will probably agree with most infants 
at this age. It is alkaline in reaction and contains 

2. per cent. fat. 
6. per cent, sugar. 
0.66 per cent, protein. 

This is too weak to be ideal ; the protein is less than 
half as much as is usually contained in mothers' milk, 
but owing to the inherent tendency of cows' milk to 
form large curds, this deficiency of protein is per- 
mitted at first. In feeble, undersized or delicate in- 
fants it is wise to begin with even a weaker milk, and 
as the digestive power grows stronger to increase the 
strength gradually (ounce at a time) until it is as 
strong as the infant's digestion will bear. For such 
cases the protein and fat may be reduced one-half : 



80 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

: .r i 

me water i 

IO per cent, milk . . . . : .- - 
Ho: water enough to make 

The r* ge F this is 

cent 

o. at sag 

in. 

A.: taw 

cent milk, and the 
- g 90 on until eight 

g me mc« at a 
. s 

mt of Fat 

D is 

- 

.. milk 

Its exist 
The - : milk milk is suffi- 

stit ent in I 

s over the third m 
milk is : v cak in the 7 

pei . If ; 

£ the c s pass t 

; se hers' milk | ss 



MILK MODIFICATION. 81 

Milk-sugar .... i oz. 

Lime water ... i oz. 

7 per cent, milk . 12 ozs. (24 tablespoonfuls). 

Hot water enough to make 20 ounces. 

The percentage composition of this is 

4 per cent. fat. 
7 per cent, sugar. 
2 per cent, protein. 

On comparing this with the analysis of mothers' 
milk on a preceding page it will be found to be iden- 
tical. 

Whichever of the various strengths be used, the 
result should be watched and further changes made if 
necessary, according to the indications. Constipation 
usually calls for a reduction in the protein and an in- 
crease in the fat, one or both. If curds appear in the 
stools the condition may be removed by going back 
temporarily to the use of upper third milk. If vom- 
iting occurs soon after feeding, it may be due to 
too rapid feeding, or to too large a meal being given, 
or to an old, foul, ill-smelling nipple, but if none of 
these are at fault the cause may be put down to too 
great strength of fat or protein, one or both, and the 
dilution may be increased. 

The formula just given most closely resembles 
mothers' milk, but is not the best to begin on ; it 
does resemble the natural product in composition, but 
owing to the inherent indigestibility of the casein of 
cows' milk, it is better to begin with a weaker prep- 
aration and then increase the strength as time goes 
on. It is much easier to increase the richness of the 



S2 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

mixture than it is to lessen it after the baby's stomach 
has been upset by an attack of indigestion. Increase 
the strength of the mixture gradually, by an ounce at 
a time is a good rule. 

Put just enough food in the bottle for a single feed- 
ing ; if any is left, throw it away; never offer it the 
second time to the baby. This last rule should be 
looked after sharply by the physician, as it is often 
transgressed by the mother or nurse. 

Intervals. — The interval between feedings should 
be carefully regulated ; it is often difficult to get some 
mothers and nurses to observe regularity in this re- 
spect. Crying and fretting is not a sufficient reason 
to break the rule and feed between the proper inter- 
vals. 

From birth up to about the third month, there 
should be two hours' interval between the meals dur- 
ing the daytime and one feeding, or at most two, dur- 
ing the night (10 P. M. to v s a. m.), or ten feedings 
during the 24 hours. 

Towards the close of the third month, increase the 
interval to three hours and reduce the number of 
meals to six in 24 hours. A gradual increase in the 
interval and decrease in the number of feedings 
should be observed until the end of the first year, 
when the ideal for most babies would be five hours' 
interval. The amount of food consumed at each meal 
must of necessity vary with different children, and 
exact quantities, as recommended in many books, 
cannot be observed. In the early days of life small 
infants will be satisfied with one ounce or less ; larger 
ones require one and a half ounces or more. At the 



MILK MODIFICATION. 83 

end of the first year a healthy baby will take from 
eight to ten ounces at a single feeding. The gradual 
increase in the weight of the child after the second 
week is the best test of success. Loss of weight is a. 
danger signal, but quiet sleep is a very favorable 
sign. 

In exceptionally delicate or small babies, although 
size and delicacy are not entirely interchangeable 
terms, milk sugar makes a better sweetener than cane 
sugar ; it requires about double the amount of milk 
sugar to produce the same taste. For difficult babies, 
babies with idiosyncrasies, babies that have bad nights 
and do not gain as steadily as is desirable, magic re- 
sults are often gained by substituting thin oatmeal or 
barley gruel in place of water in the above formulas. 

One heaping teaspoonful of rolled or granulated 
oats boiled in a quart of water, in an uncovered ves- 
sel, until reduced by evaporation to the measure of 
twenty ounces, makes a thin gruel, when strained, 
that serves to overcome the difficulties of some of 
these difficult infants. 

Sterilization of Milk. — Fresh, clean milk does not 
need sterilizing ; as before said, the sterilization of 
milk detracts from its nourishing power. On the 
other hand, sterilized milk is better and safer than 
dirty or contaminated milk. Therefore, if for any 
reason fresh, clean milk cannot be obtained, or if the 
milk is under suspicion, the process of sterilization 
should be used until milk above suspicion can be ob- 
tained. A double boiler, such as is used for cooking 
oatmeal, is convenient. Bring the outside water to a 
boil and then take off the stove, but allow to stand in 



84 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

the cooling water for 20 minutes. Then put the 
milk in an ice chest, or in a cool place, so that it will 
cool as rapidly as possible. Put into thoroughly clean 
bottles, filling- them full, and cork. 

FROM ONE YEAR OLD UP. 

Children need proportionately more food and espe- 
cially more nitrogen and minerals than adults. Na- 
ture furnishes these in milk during the nursing period 
and parents should take the hint and see that their 
offspring are not underfed, when the nursing period 
is ended. They should I rht to chew, and never 

be hurried at a meal. 

Milk, fruit, cereals should be the main props of the 
period of juvenility. Tea, coffee, beer, candy, mince 
pies, plum pudding, cheese should not be allowed. 
Hone; r and m ar should be allowed 

abundantly, but at /,'.. \ >.lar meals only. Fat in 
the form of butter, bacon and olive oil should form a 
part of their regular dietary. 

x: MOTHERS. 

The milk of the nursing woman is sedulously pro- 
tected by nature against extraneous influences. It is 
the last of the organic fluids to be changed by irregu- 
lanties of diet or by drug effects. Thus, an increase 
in the amount of fluid drunk increases the urine, but 
not the milk ; a decrease in the amount of fluid affects 
all other secretions first and the supply of milk last. 
During an attack of jaundice, every fluid and tissue 
of the body is affected before the milk shows any con- 
tamination with bile. It was noticed that during the 



NURSING MOTHERS. 85 

siege of Paris, women continued to nurse their chil- 
dren, although almost starved to death themselves. 
Alcoholic beverages do not affect the milk directly, 
for distillation of the milk after a considerable con- 
sumption of spirit showed no alcoholic contamina- 
tion. 

In the light of these facts, we may acknowledge 
our inability to produce any immediate change in the 
character of the milk by a change of diet, and look 
with suspicion upon any proprietary articles that claim 
to do so. They also teach us not to jump too readily 
to the conclusion that every attack of infantile colic 
is due to some mistake in the mother's diet. As ex- 
ceptions to the general rule it may be noted that mer- 
curial preparations and senna are drugs that do affect 
the milk ; the first appears rapidly in the milk after 
a few doses and produces mercurial symptoms in the 
infant, and the second imparts its laxative properties 
to the milk in a mild degree. It is a safe rule for a 
nursing mother to avoid all drugs, especially those of 
a metallic character. Violent and depressing emo- 
tions, such as anger and chagrin, more profoundly 
affect the milk than food or drugs. A violent attack 
of jealousy is probably the most baleful in its effect. 
The appearance of the menses during nursing is occa- 
sionally followed by very serious illness in the infant, 
but this is not generally the case. 

Being thus prevented by nature from producing 
any direct and immediate effect upon the milk by 
diet, we are limited to the general principle of keep- 
ing the mother in good health and supplying her 
abundantly with the proper elements for the needs of 
the growing child. 



86 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

The proportion of protein in milk is in excess of 
the carbohydrates, and we may take this as a hint to 
increase the relative proportion of protein in the diet 
of the mother over what is consumed by her when 
not nursing-. If the rules on page 2~ are followed, 
the desires of the woman will become a safe guide ; 
in lieu of that, the following hints will be of service: 

i st. Any diet that agrees with the mother and 
keeps her in good health will cause the infant to 
thrive. 

2d. A little extra protein and fat are needed ; 
therefore, fresh cows' milk is an excellent diet for the 
mother. One pint extra, beyond her ordinary food, 
will furnish all the elements needed. Meat, with 
some of the tender fat, will do the same thing for 
those who do not like milk. A saucer of oatmeal 
with cream, or a pint of oatmeal gruel, in addition to 
the ordinary food, will serve very well. 

3d. The mistake of overeating and lack of exer- 
cise is to be avoided. Indolence and heavy eating 
decrease the flow of milk and deteriorate its quality. 
Exercise and fresh air are extremely important to 
nursing women. 

It is a very common opinion that certain articles 
of food are invariably inimical to the child and are to 
be abstained from, no matter how much the mother 
craves them. An arbitrary rale of this kind is faulty. 
Some individualization of cases is needed before the 
erood or bad effects of certain articles are settled. 
Foods that have come under the cloud of popular 
suspicion at this period are turnips, beans, lettuce, 
fruit, tomatoes and green, fresh vegetables generally. 



NURSING MOTHERS. 87 

They should not be condemned wholesale, but if the 
mother desires some one of them it should be tried 
intelligently and the result will in all probability be 
very beneficial. 

The foundation of much trouble and ill-health is 
laid in the few hours that intervene between the birth 
of the child and the arrival of the milk, by injudi- 
cious feeding and ignorant management. The first 
necessity for a prosperous career as an infant is 
warmth. The hands and feet of the baby should not 
be allowed to become cold. Elaborate washing and 
dressing in fine clothes must all give way before this 
imperative requirement of warmth. The second ne- 
cessity is that the first thing that enters the baby's 
mouth must be from the breast of the mother, and 
from nowhere else. The erroneous idea that the baby 
must have nourishment before the milk comes to the 
mother's breast is responsible for much gastric dis- 
order and subsequent colic. The infant arrives upon 
the scene with a sufficient store of nutritive material 
in his or her system to last perfectly until such time 
as the milk arrives, usually 48 to 72 hours. The 
small amount of colostrum which the first efforts at 
sucking draw forth will help greatly in keeping the 
infant contented until the full flow of milk arrives. 

Occasionally a few drops of pure water will con- 
tribute to the comfort of the baby, and it should 
always be given when the child is restless and fretful 
immediately after birth, when it ought to be sleeping; 
this is especially true when the baby is born in very 
hot weather. 

In regard to the intervals between nursing, there 



88 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

is nothing that so conduces to the health and comfort 
of the mother as the formation of regular habits in 
this respect. Do not nurse too often ; do not put the 
baby to the breast simply because it is crying. Never 
use such a means of soothing sooner than the regular 
time ; never allow the baby to fall asleep at the breast 
unless at the end of a meal. Never allow the baby 
to nurse while the mother is asleep. To preserve the 
symmetry of the shape, as well as to insure a regular 
flow of milk, use the two breasts equally and in alter- 
nation. Weaning should be gradual, beginning at 
the sixth or seventh month, when the first tooth ap- 
pears, by assisting the breast with some appropriate 
outside food. 

The physiological time for the cessation of the 
nursing period is, on the average, about the tenth 
month, although the time may be somewhat short- 
ened or somewhat lengthened without harm. At the 
seventh month, when the first tooth usually appears, 
a beginning of outside feeding may be made, but 
should not be carried to any great extent until more 
teeth come. 

OLD AGE. 

As the years pass by the respiration grows more 
shallow, the power of digestion weaker, the walls of 
the arteries become hardened by the slow accretion of 
earthy matters, and the fibers lose their elasticity. 
The veins become dilated, the skin grows dry and 
shriveled and the cartilages of the larynx ossify, 
changing the voice to a shrill treble. These and the 
more obvious changes, such as the loss of the teeth 



OLD AGE. 89 

and hair, the bent form and the dull eye, warn us 
that the dietetic habits of middle life and of youth 
should not be continued when old age comes on. 

The body in the last analysis may be considered as 
a network of exceedingly minute fibers and tubes, 
woven into the many tissues that make up the human 
form. The idea of a web or a reticulated structure is 
involved in the name " histology," which is the term 
applied to the study of the minute structure of tissue. 
The food that enters the mouth must undergo the 
most minute subdivision and solution in order to pass 
through this corporeal network in the processes of 
digestion and assimilation. This passage of nutritive 
material through the body is a continuous process 
from the first to the last day of life. Those who have 
watched the process of filtration of turbid fluids in the 
laboratory must have noticed how rapidly the fluid 
runs through the fresh filter, and how, as the minute 
interstices become clogged, it runs slower and slower 
until at last it comes through drop by drop. The 
new filter is like the clean and flexible tissues of 
youth, that rapidly eliminate the deleterious excreta 
of the body, and the debris-clogged filter is like the 
stiff, inflexible tissues of age, obstructed with the in- 
soluble residues of food that have been poured into 
the body for years. 

When we consider the great quantities of tough, 
fibrous and indigestible material, augmented in 
amount by man's propensity to self-indulgence, that 
enter the mouth during the lifetime of an individual, 
it is no wonder that those delicate organic pipes and 
tubes of which the human body is composed become 

7 



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sim] 
en - 

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acter, 
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st sign ig is 

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I to become ] Ho 

looks 

Is ret he is k ag i he 

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wrinkles. T - .ill- 
ness of nd g in in weight is jast 5 3 sign 
of increasing years is g kles [t is 
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cession of sou::.' Inces :' is - gain 

of weight. 

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never be a ist errors; if he 



OLD AGE. 91 

has lived well now is the time to continue and im- 
prove his habits, in order that the fruits of past regu- 
larity may be fully enjoyed. 

Temperance and regularity should be the- presid- 
ing principles of the old man's life. A scrupulous 
regularity as to times of eating is of great service, for 
the numerous organs of the body that are beyond the 
direct control of the will are sufficiently amenable to 
the voluntary parts to have good habits formed in 
their operations and functions by external regularity. 
Further, it will be found upon examination that men 
and women who have attained extreme old age have, 
almost without exception, been very abstemious in 
their diet. This is in agreement with reason, for not 
only is the metabolic power of the cells weak and the 
tissues apt to be clogged, but the bodily activity is 
naturally less. The flickering flame of life is a hun- 
dred times more apt to be choked by an overplus than 
to fail from too little fuel. 

The activity of the old is less ; they therefore need 
relatively less of tissue-forming foods. 

The bodily heat needs to be maintained ; they 
therefore need relatively more of fat or sugars, or 
both. 

The waning powers of elimination and assimilation 
indicate that the total amount of food should be di- 
minished. The decay and loss of the teeth show, that 
hard and fibrous food is not appropriate, and the char- 
acter of the food in this respect should depend some- 
what upon the state of the teeth. 

Whatever else may be neglected, the thorough in- 
salivation of the food should not be. The absence 



92 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

or inefficiency of the teeth make this imperative. 
Even hard food is safe if it be chewed, bit, munched, 
rolled, pressed, macerated and comminuted in the 
month, until completely reduced and made alkaline. 

The utmost deliberation in eating is therefore a 
sine qua non of the health of the aged. Under these 
conditions the following foods are capable of continu- 
ing the attenuated thread of life indefinitelv. Follow 
carefully the directions on page 27 in regard to the 
manner of eating. 

Bread and rich milk. Select the bread (white, 
brown, wheat, rye or corn) most pleasiug to the taste. 

Rice and rich milk. 

Any well-cooked cereal and milk. 

Buttered toast and tea. 

Bread and bacon. 

Small amounts of roast or broiled meats during 
special activity in the open air. 

Eggs, brown bread and potato. 

Honey, figs, dates, cocoa, chocolate, turnips, lettuce, 
carrots, spinach, celery and fruits in general, espe- 
cially apples. For beverages, tea, coffee, chocolate, 
wine and whiskey, all in moderation and never more 
than one kind at one meal. Plum pudding, pies, 
mincemeat, butter cakes, fruit cakes, doughnuts, greasy 
fried foods must be abstained from. 

It .will be seen from this that the kind of food 
selected for the aged is not so important as the regu- 
lation of the amount, and the manner of eating it. 
The following points cover the subject : 

1st. Simple food (not rich, not spiced, not highly 
flavored, not too much mixed). 



BRAIN WORKERS. 93 

2d. Attention to the thorough and complete in- 
salivation of each mouthful. 

3d. Care that the moderate amounts demanded by 
natural appetite are not by one jot exceeded. 

If a definite figure be requested, it may be suggested 
that for an old man of 140 pounds, doing little or no 
manual labor, the total amount of the above food 
might be limited to 20 ounces, divided into two or 
three meals, as desired. There can be no objection 
to wine, taken moderately and regularly, if the indi- 
vidual wants it. Also there is no special reason for 
advising it. 

BRAIN WORKERS. 

It has been found by careful experimentation, the 
most recent and accurate of which is Atwater's, that 
severe and continuous mental labor causes no more 
tissue waste than absolute rest. That is to say, the 
most accurate instrument with which we are ac- 
quainted is unable to show* that mental activity af- 
fects tissue waste any more than absolute rest. That 
there is a difference is certain ; whether science will 
ever be able to demonstrate it or not is problematical. 
Cholestrin seems to be increased by mental work and 
is eliminated by the bile, but the metabolic changes 
involved are not such as a respiration calorimeter is 
capable of showing. 

Brain workers are very apt to be sedentary in habit 
and not infrequently such work is accompanied by 
high living and late hours. Such a life, namely, 
plentiful eating and drinking, with bodily indolence, 
tense nerves and worry, is the best possible combina- 



94 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

tion for bringing on an early breakdown, as pointed 
out under B right's disease. 

There are no doubt special brain foods, or foods 
that especially nourish the nervous system, but as yet 
we do not know just what parts of food they are from 
the standpoint of exact experimentation. Under 
these circumstances we must depend upon practical 
experience. 

In the first place, the brain is less directly depend- 
ent upon food than any other organ. It is a general 
rule that the higher the function of any organ the 
less it suffers from withdrawal of food, hence, the 
brain being the highest organ in the body, suffers the 
least of all. It is a matter of common observation 
that the brain works better under a light diet and 
best of all under abstinence from solid food. All the 
tissues yield to it in importance, and as a consequence 
it draws aliment from all the other organs, as minis- 
ters and servants, when the external food supply is 
deficient. The ideal diet, therefore, for a brain worker 
is a very light one, of a not too easily digestible char- 
acter, at the same time the food should have sufficient 
residue to prevent constipation. 

Fine white bread should be avoided, and the coarser 
breads selected. Graham, entire wheat, oatmeal 
crackers, pumpernickel (whole rye), corn bread and 
Boston brown bread offer sufficient variety to select 
from. The feces from an exclusive diet of Graham 
bread outweigh and are greater in bulk than those 
from an exclusive diet of an entire wheat bread, by 
"double, and from the feces of a patent flour bread diet 
by a quadruple proportion. This bulkiness of intes- 



BRAIN WORKERS. 95 

tinal contents takes the place to a certain extent of 
exercise and tends to obviate the constipation of sed- 
entary pursuits. The slight waste of starchy matter 
found in the bulky stools is of no great importance. 
The objection to fine white bread also extends to 
meat, with the additional disadvantage, that the nitro- 
genous products of the digestion of meat encumber 
the internal organs more than vegetables. 

The no-breakfast plan works well with many sed- 
entery brain workers. During the morning hours, if 
the stomach is empty, the mental faculties are gener- 
ally alert and the best work can be done. There 
are thousands of people who have no appetite for 
breakfast and simply eat in conformity with a long- 
established habit. They form the " cup of coffee and 
a roll" brigade so numerous in the United States. 

With such people there is a certain repugnance to 
solid food in the early morning. If such people will 
make a trial of the no-breakfast plan they will prob- 
ably be surprised at the improvement. The follow- 
ing menu will serve to give an idea of the amount 
and kind of food recommended for mental and seden- 
tary occupations : 

Breakfast : Either none or a cup of coffee. 

Lunch : One or two caviar sandwiches made with 
coarse bread, lettuce, cucumbers and a banana with 
cream ; chocolate or tea, as preferred. 

Dinner : Meat, fish or eggs, toast and butter, spin- 
ach, tomatoes, ice cream and tea. 

As a spur to intellectual effort there is no stimulus 
equal to a cup of black coffee, immediately followed 
by a cup of tea. They are the beverages of the in- 
tellect. 



96 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

During continuous mental work, without exercise, 
the total food for a day need not weigh over 16 ounces. 
A rational liver, however, would take some regular 
muscular outdoor exercise, and his mental work 
would be all the better for it and more food would 
then be needed. 

DIET FOR MUSCULAR WORK. 

A liberal allowance of carbohydrates, one-eighth to 
one-fourth as much protein, and plenty of fat if the 
climate is cold, will give power for sustained hard 
labor. In a well-developed individual with sound 
heart and vigorous digestion, an enormous amount of 
labor can be accomplished on food of the above char- 
acter, amounting to 4,000 or 4,500 Calories. The 
diet need not be greatly varied except for the purpose 
of pleasing the palate ; indeed, if confined to a few- 
standard articles of food the life is simpler and the 
results better. 

When first starting in on severe labor the muscles 
will become stiff, and some little time may be re- 
quired before a proper equilibrium is established. If 
the amount of food is correct and the elimination 
good there will be no loss of weight, the eye will be 
bright and the muscles will soon recover from the ex- 
haustion of a day without stiffness. If the work is in 
the open air more food can be token with advantage ; 
when the task is a strenuous one, taking the utmost 
power of the individual, but not of long duration, a 
liberal supply of meat gives the best results, because 
it yields up its energy quickly, and is thus like a fuel 
that, burning quickly, makes an intense heat. When 



DIET FOR MUSCULAR WORK. 97 

a sustained, long-continued effort is to be made the 
cereals undoubtedly give the best results. Barley 
was highly esteemed by the athletes of ancient Greece 
on account of the endurance it imparted. It is the 
rapid generation of power from the protein of meat, 
that has rendered the beef, mutton, toast and tea diet 
so popular with athletes training for races, prize- 
fights and other short-lasting demands for a supreme 
effort. That a man so fed cannot be held long in a 
tip-top condition is shown by the fact that after reach- 
ing the acme of his powers he falls away or becomes 
stale, no doubt owing to the large amount of nitro- 
genous debris that clogs his system. 

Bread and milk, simple as it is. gives the materials 
in admirable proportion for hard and enduring labor, 
as the analysis shows. Bread contains 8 or 9 per 
cent, of protein, 51 to 55 per cent, of carbohydrate 
and 1.5 per cent, of fat, with a little over 1 per cent, 
of minerals, and yields 1,250 Calories to the pound. 
Milk contains 3 or 4 per cent, of protein, 4 per cent, 
of fat, 4 per cent, of carbohydrate and .7 per cent, of 
ash, and yields 780 Calories to the pint. Two pound 
loaves of bread and three pints of milk furnish 4,600 
Calories, and a steady diet of these standard foods can 
be borne longer without monotony offending the taste 
than of almost any other foods. A little meat, a lit- 
tle fruit, a little coffee or tea. makes a sufficient va- 
riety, so that it can not only be tolerated, but even 
relished indefinitely. Oats prepared as a porridge 
answers the same purpose excellently, but is not rel- 
ished for so long a time. Owing to the large propor- 
tion of water used in its preparation, the per cent, of 



98 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

food principles in boiled oats is much reduced from 
what the dry oats yield, but the relative proportion is 
good ; the ratio of protein to carbohydrate is higher 
than in bread and milk. 

Boiled oatmeal, that is, porridge, contains 2.S per 
cent, piotein, .5 per cent, fat and 12 per cent, carbo- 
hydrate ; a pound of it yields 285 Calories. An ex- 
cellent instance of its power of giving sustained en- 
durance during hard labor was shown by the remark- 
able feat of the Great Western Railway of England 
in the summer of 1872. "It was necessary to shift 
the rails from the broad to the narrow gauge on up- 
ward of 500 miles of permanent way within a fort- 
night. The task was enormous, for the Great Western 
is one of the few English lines whose rails are held 
down by bolts screwed into nuts. All these had to 
be unscrewed and replaced after moving the heavy 
rails two feet. About 3,000 men were employed, 
working double time, from 4 in the morning till at 
night, and, without one being sick or drunk, they ac- 
complished the work in the prescribed time. The 
scheme for generating muscular power was this: The 
men were hutted along the line, so as not to waste 
their strength by coining and going, and they brought 
with them bacon, bread, cheese, cocoa, etc., to pro- 
vide their usual meals at the usual times. But they 
had no beer nor alcohol in any form. A pound and 
a half of oatmeal and half a pound of sugar * - 
allowed extra to each man daily, and for every gang 
of 21 a cook was provided. 

" The first thing done in the morning was to break- 
strand then the cook and his cauldron started along 



FOOD FOR ANEMIA. 99 

the line till water was found convenient, a fireplace 
of stones was built, the fire started and the pot boiled. 

"Oatmeal was then sprinkled into it with sugar 
and thoroughly well boiled, till a thin gruel was 
made. As soon as 'the shout for drinks * was heard, 
buckets were filled and carried around with small 
pannikins to convey the liquid to the panting mouths. 
The men liked it exceedingly, and learned by ex- 
perience the importance of having it well cooked." 

The error that is oftenest made by professional 
trainers and athletes is carrying the meat food prin- 
ciple to an excessive degree. 

During a protracted feat of endurance a food is 
needed that will absorb and assimilate with little ex- 
penditure of energy, and supply the muscles with 
fuel ; for this purpose there is nothing so admirable 
as lump sugar. Instead of the large quantities of 
meat usually eaten as a part of the training for ath- 
letic events, it is recommended that, after a six-day 
course of beef or mutton and toast to reduce weight 
and remove superfluous fat, cereals largely take the 
place of the meat. If food is needed during the trial 
we recommend sugar, and after the effort is over a 
large bowl of infused tea, sweetened, but without milk, 
as the best restorative. 

FOOD FOR ANEMIA. 

It should be remembered that anemia is a general 
term for several conditions of the system. Any ab- 
normal variation in the quantity or quality of the 
blood comes under this head ; it may refer to a reduc- 
tion of the blood as a whole or to a lack of certain 

LOFC. 



100 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

important constituents, such as the red corpuscles, the 
albuminous constituents or the hemoglobin. 

The diminution of the blood as a whole is com- 
monly due to hemorrhage of a sudden and profuse 
character ; the condition is serious in proportion to 
the amount of blood iost and the rapidity of its with- 
drawal. It may be necessary, in order to save life, 
to resort to subcutaneous injections of normal salt 
solution (Xote VIII). This is necessary when the 
patient is in collapse, the surface cold, the pulse 
small and rapid and the countenance drawn and 
peaked. 

Under these conditions the absorbents of the ali- 
mentary canal cannot be depended upon, and the 
only food imperatively demanded is a weak salt 
solution, but administered bv subcutaneous or rectal 

- 

injection. 

In less severe hemorrhages, which are by far the 
most frequently met with in practice, the patient is 
able to swallow, and there is :v g r and insatiable 
thirst present, as an indication of the proper method 
of introducing fluid : make up the loss. After a 
hemorrhage the waterv and saline constituents of the 
blood are quickly restored by absorption. The albu- 
minous elements are also made up with comparative 

-e, but it may take weeks or months before the red 
corpuscles — those minute organic forms peculiar to 
blood — are regenerated. The food that corresponds 
most closely in chemical elements is milk, and this 
result of analysis is fully borne out by experience. 
Iron, however, which is of extreme importance to the 
blood, is very scantily represented in milk. It would 



FOOD FOR ANEMIA. 101 

take something like 6^ pints to furnish the 1-6 of a 
grain of iron that is daily used up in the system, and 
much more than this is needed when the system has 
been depleted by hemorrhage. A little excess of iron 
at such a time does no harm, as the red corpuscles 
cannot be regenerated without it. 

The ideal food, therefore, to restore the losses by 
hemorrhage is milk plus a small amount of iron. It 
has been my plan to add 5 drops of dialyzed iron to 
as much strictly fresh milk as the patient is likely to 
consume in a day. This amount of iron does not 
curdle the milk nor change its taste in the least. It 
rapidly changes into an easily digestible oxide. This 
is about thirty times as much iron as the body uses 
per day in the normal condition, and furnishes, there- 
fore, an abundant surplus for the regeneration of the 
red blood. It must be shaken before each draft of it. 

It is a useful rule in practice that so long as the 
patient complains of thirst and is capable of demand- 
ing drink, the natural method of introducing fluids is 
sufficient, but when there is such a state of collapse 
that either no thirst is felt or else the patient is not 
able to express it, subcutaneous or rectal injections 
must be quickly resorted to. 

Anemia is frequently produced by a long-continued 
drain upon the albuminous constituents of the blood, 
such as occurs in chronic suppuration or in Bright's 
disease. Lactation, although a natural process, may 
produce the same condition when too prolonged. 
When the drain comes from a chronic flow of pus 
there is an especial need for nuclein and fat. Eggs, 
and especially egg yolks, milk, sweetbreads and glan- 



102 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

dular organs in general, shad-roe and caviar all pre- 
sent these elements in a digestible form. Bright's 
disease is spoken of in a separate chapter. In chloro- 
sis the lacking element is purely iron, for in this dis- 
ease the subcutaneous fat is well maintained. As an 
average there is about one -sixth grain in the ordinary 
food of a clay. 

To keep up the quality of the mother's blood dur- 
ing lactation a pint of oatmeal gruel a day, in addi- 
tion to the usual food of the woman, is all that is 
necessary. It should be divided to suit the wishes of 
the individual, and seasoned to suit the taste. 

Resume : For hemorrhage, milk, either whole or 
diluted with water, according to circumstances, to 
which the necessary constituent iron has been added 
in the proportion of five drops of the officinal solution 
of dialyzed iron to a quart. After immediate danger 
is passed and the patient, although pale and weak, is 
able to digest solid food, green vegetables, and espe- 
cially tender green peas, are the most appropriate be- 
cause of the preponderance of potassium salts in these 
articles of food over sodium ; the red corpuscles, the 
most difficult element to restore and the slowest in 
reforming, are rich in potassium aud require much 
of it. 

Anemia from loss of rich albuminous fluids, as pus 
or semen, requires food rich in nuclein, such as eggs, 
especially egg yolks, sweetbreads, liver, shad-roe and 
caviar. 

Chlorotic anemia needs iron food — spinach, green 
vegetables, oats, lentils, apples and strawberries. 

Lactation : A pint, or about that quantity, of oat- 



DIET IN DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 103 

meal gruel a day. It should be flavored and divided 
into two or three portions, according to the wishes of 
the patient. The following list of foods is in the 
order of their richness in iron : 

Spinach. Oats. 

Egg yolks. Strawberries. 

Beef. Beans. 

Apples. Peas. 
Lentils. 

DIET IN VARIOUS DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 

Sour Stomach. — The reaction of the stomach con- 
tents is normally acid, hence by sour stomach is 
meant an abnormal degree of acidity. Two acids are 
usually found in the stomach after a meal, independ- 
ent of any acids that may have been taken in the 
food, namely, hydrochloric acid and lactic acid. The 
first is derived from the blood and the latter from 
chemical changes in the starchy and saccharine food. 

Sour stomach, in the abnormal sense, may arise 
from either of these two acids, namely, from an over- 
secretion of the hydrochloric acid or from too great a 
production of lactic acid from fermentation of the car- 
bohydrates. These two conditions are frequently con- 
founded under the names of acid dyspepsia, sour 
stomach, heart-burn or pyrosis. The name properly 
applied for excess of hydrochloric acid is hyperchlor- 
hydria. 

Hyperchlorhydria. — The obstinate acid eructations 
of the aged are most commonly of this variety ; it 
also occurs in middle life, but is rare in children. It 
may be caused by the undue consumption of spiced 



10-t CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

and highly seasoned dishes, the alternation of very 
cold and hot drinks, the injudicious use of alcohol, 
the hasty deglutition of unmasticated food, the Amer- 
ican habit of cooling off with ice water and of drink- 
ing ice cream soda. Mental depression, anxiety, fits 
of anger, grief and worry are also potent sources of 
this condition. 

A distinguishing point is relief from food, espe- 
cially meat or eggs, followed by a recurrence after the 
food is digested. The acidity of the urine is dimin- 
ished. A suitable dose of an alkali, such as potassium 
carbonate, affords immediate, though temporary, re- 
lief. The dietetic treatment of this condition is the 
avoidance of the things just indicated as causes of it. 
Avoid spices and condiments, ice water, ice cream, 
very hot drink- . heavy, greasy food and highly 
salted food. Cultivate serenity, deliberate eating and 
simple food. Never touch the very sweet, very cold* 
very rich so-called Sundae sodas so much affected of 
late years by ladies and children. Abstain from alco- 
holic beverages or use them much diluted with water. 
The overeating of the most appropriate food is often 
responsible for an attack of hvperchlorhydria. Par- 
tial fasting, such as limiting food to one moderate 
meal a day, is a prompt cure. Many of these cases 
do well on a nearly exclusive milk diet. The mild 
alkaline reaction of fresh milk helps to moderate the 
acidity and affords sufficient nourishment. Others, 
strange to say, have been cured by buttermilk. Raw 
eggs are very unirritating and also help neutralize the 
free acid. Fats, starches and sugars should be re- 
stricted and a less amount of salt than usual should 



DIET IN DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 105 

be consumed. A pure vegetarian, with this trouble, 
is in a bad way and should be advised that a tempo- 
rary meat, egg or milk diet is necessary. The list of 
advised articles, then, is as follows: Milk, broiled 
lean beef, stale bread or toast very moderately, very 
little of butter or other fat, dry grated cheese, eggs 
raw or jellied, junket, and in some cases buttermilk. 

After improvement, the diet may be extended so as 
to include carbohydrate with some small granuled 
starch, such as rice or cornstarch, or well-cooked tapi- 
oca and ripe fruit. The latter two used separately 
and not together, if the fruit is tart, as vegetable acids 
retard the digestion of starch. 

Hypochlorhydria. — Sour stomach from fermenta- 
tion. This is the more common variety, and is due 
to the excessive formation of lactic and butyric acids ; 
sometimes also acetic acid. This condition of acid 
fermentation is a constant accompaniment of gastric 
catarrh, slow digestion, cancer, dilatation of the stom- 
ach and many cases of difficult digestion. 

Hence it includes numerous cases, that vary a good 
deal in detail and arise from various causes. The im- 
mediate cause of the acidity, strange to say, is a de. 
ficiency of the normal hydrochloric acid in the stom- 
ach. Thus arises the strictly true paradox that the 
most common cause of sour stomach is a lack of 
sourness (that is, normal acid) in the gastric juice. 
It arises thus: the normal amount of hydrochloric 
acid (3 parts per thousand) inhibits the activity of the 
lactic acid-producing organisms and thus preserves 
the carbohydrates from fermentation and consequent 
acidity. 
8 



106 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

The golden rale of diet in all stomach troubles ap- 
plies here : Eat little and masticate that little well. 
Buttermilk agrees with so many of these cases that it 
has earned the reputation of being particularly suit- 
able, except when arising from dilatation of the 
stomach. Buttermilk contains about i per cent, of 
lactic acid, and why or how it agrees when the trou- 
ble is due to lactic acid is not easily seen, but such 
seems to be the fact. Pastry, hot breadstuffs, pud- 
dings, fried foods and greasy foods must be absolutely 
avoided. 

Appropriate foods are such as do not tarry long in 
the stomach, and also such as do not easily yield to 
the process of fermentation. 

A raw or jellied egg or two, buttered toast and tea 
make an appropriate breakfast. 

Broiled steak or roast beef, a little stale bread and 
greens, and a little custard for dessert. 

Ham and eggs, tea, toast and lettuce. 

Sugars, syrups and starchy food must be much re- 
duced. The following list may prove useful in select- 
ing articles of food: 

FOODS THAT FERMENT FOODS THAT FERMENT 



WITH 


DIFFICULTY. 


READILY 


Beef. 




Milk. 


Game. 




Rice. 


Mutton. 




Macaroni. 


Chicken. 




Cornstarch. 


Ham. 




Sago. 


Cod and other fish. 


Farina. 


Bacon. 




Bread. 



DIET IN DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 107 

. FOODS THAT FERMENT FOODS THAT FERMENT 
WITH DIFFICULTY. READILY. 

Eggs. Toast. 

Spinach. Syrups. 

Boiled milk. Cereals. 

Asparagus. Beans. 

Cabbage. Grapes. 

Brussel sprouts. Fruits in general. 

Tomatoes. 

Celery. 

Cucumbers. 

Carrots. 

Cauliflower. 

Calves' brains, sweetbreads, pigeon, chicken and 
jellied or soft eggs remain in the stomach but a short 
time and are not inclined to fermentation. The less 
digestible foods, such as ham or beef, may be left out 
until improvement is manifest, or until required to 
break the monotony. 

Meat and eggs should preponderate in most cases, 
and it is wise to keep the food at a meal limited to 
two articles. The total amount of food should be 
kept down. If the patient has not the self-control to 
follow the directions upon page 27 the limit may be 
fixed at about 16 to 20 ounces in weight, of about 
1,000 to 1,400 Calories value. The directions found 
in standard works are certainly too high (Einhorn, 
2,863 C; Friedenwald & Ruhrah, 2,456 C). Occa- 
sionally cases will be found, which, to the surprise of 
the dietetist, do better on three pints of buttermilk 
and a few crackers than anything else. 



108 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

Gastric Ulcer. — This condition is generally accom- 
panied by hyperchlorhydria. In acute cases entire 
abstinence from food for a time is wise. Solid food, 
especially food with irritating particles, such as toast, 
coarse bread, all acids and fibrous vegetables, should 
be forbidden, even after improvement has been pres- 
ent for some time. 

Milk, junket and strained rice-water mixed with 
milk must suffice in the early stages of the disease. 
Entire abstinence from food with rest in bed is neces- 
sary after a hemorrhage. Rectal feeding is not gen- 
erally necessary, unless the patient is exceedingly 
weak and thin; when such is the case, a cleansing 
injection of warm, weak, salt water should be first 
used ; after it has run off, and the patient rested half 
an hour, five ounces of lukewarm milk (temp. 102 F.) 
should be slowly injected rather high in the bowel, 
while the patient is lying on the left side. The pro- 
cess may be repeated every three or four hours, until 
the patient is able to eat. As soon as milk or junket 
diet grows monotonous, albumen water may be sub- 
stituted, also strained barley gruel, oatmeal gruel, 
and in some cases a little rich cream mixed with the 
gruel. 

Ice cream may be tried, eaten slowly, and if found 
to agree can be used every four hours, or occasionally, 
as a relief to monotony. Sweet cream (/. <?., free from 
casein) diluted with twice its volume of cold water, 
with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda added to each 
glass, has proved so great a boon in a number of cases 
that I am inclined to begin using it in all cases. The 
explanation probably is that cream and water so 



DIET IN DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 109 

mixed and drunk cold, passes rapidly to the intestine, 
where it is digested without molesting the stomach. 

A patient who has once suffered an attack of gas- 
tric ulcer should avoid harsh foods for half a year af- 
ter recovery, remedying the constipation that is apt to 
result from a smooth diet with small residue, by ex- 
ercise in the open air and abdominal massage. 

Gastric Carcinoma. — Cream diluted with water, 
either cold or hot, albumin water, raw or soft-boiled 
eggs, will furnish fat and protein. Strained gruels of 
oats or barley, salted, sweetened and flavored with a 
little port wine, supply carbohydrate. Meals should 
be small and frequent and the patient should live in 
fresh air as much as possible. 

Meats, coarse breads and green vegetables are to be 
avoided. Cocoa or chocolate is a better beverage 
than either coffee or tea. The patient must be con- 
tent with little. If hunger prevails over reason, select 
foods that tarry but a short time in the stomach, such 
as calves' brains, oysters, fish of the lean varieties 
(whitefish, carp, pike), cauliflower, mashed potatoes, 
fine white bread (no crust), scraped raw 7 sweet apples. 

Some authorities, impressed with the idea that the 
patient's strength must be kept up, advise much food 
of a concentrated character, such as digested meat 
preparations. The trouble is that such feeding taxes 
the eliminative organs, and the highly nitrogenous 
residues are more apt to keep up the strength of the 
cancer than that of the patient. 

Dilatation of Stomach. — This condition is usually 
due to stenosis of the pylorus; the stenosis may be 
caused by either benign or malignant disease. 



110 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

The food for this condition should be given in 
small and frequent meals ; it is a wise plan to drink 
little or no water and to select the drier kinds of food. 
The needs of the system for water can be largely sup- 
plied by rectal injections of pure water. Some cases 
thrive best when the greater part of the nourishment 
is protein foods with a minimum of starch ; these are 
usually benign cases. The malignant cases seem gen- 
erally to digest starchy food better than meats. The 
principal rules are : 

Dry foods and little drink. 

Rectal injections of water (8 to 12 ounces at a time, 
three or four times in 24 hours). 

Predominance of the unfermentable nitrogenous 
foods in benign cases. 

A relatively greater proportion of easily digested 
carbohydrates in malignant cases. 

DIET FOR DIABETICS. 

In no other affection that the physician is called 
upon to treat does the patient's comfort and the pro. 
longation of life so greatly depend upon a wisely 
regulated dietary as in diabetes. 

Whatever views may be held as to the pathology 
of this obscure disease there is fortunately an almost 
entire agreement as to the benefit to be derived from 
a restriction of the relative amount of the carbohy- 
drates in the food. This is so plain and so generally 
admitted that the error of taking it too literally and 
of employing it without discrimination must be 
guarded against. Simple withdrawal of starch and 
sugar in all or in part does not comprise everything 
that can be said upon the subject. 



DIET FOR DIABETICS. Ill 

Diabetics thrive better upon a moderate reduction 
in the carbohydrates than upon their entire with- 
drawal ; moreover, there is a point in each individual 
case, in this respect, where the patient thrives best, 
that is, maintains the maximum of strength, and this 
point must be found by experimentation in each in- 
dividual case. 

The three factors by which the result of any diet 
is to be judged are the amount of sugar in the urine, 
the loss or gain of body weight and the feelings of 
the patient. An intelligent effort must be made to 
reduce the carbohydrates to a point where the pa- 
tient's health is best preserved, the diminished carbo- 
hydrates being replaced so far as possible by an in- 
creased consumption of fats and oils. 

In order to intelligently apply dietetic rules to par- 
ticular cases it is necessary to ascertain the gravity of 
the condition by a test that will show the carbohy- 
drate-digesting power of the individual. This re- 
quires some trouble and care, but when the knowl- 
edge is obtained it makes it possible to give a reliable 
prognosis and to correctly answer the question, " To 
what extent is it wise to restrict this patient's diet?" 

The test is made by putting the patient for a few 
days (four or five) upon a diet from which carbohy- 
drates are rigidly excluded, i. e., beef, mutton, pork, 
ham, bacon, fish, eggs, butter, lettuce, spinach, cucum- 
bers with water and unsweetened tea or coffee for a 
beverage. If sugar peisists upon this diet the case is 
a severe one and the prognosis grave, for the reason 
that the sugar must be produced from the protein in 
the tissues themselves. During the test the patient 



112 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

should live a very regular life in regard to exercise 
and care should be taken that there are no unusual 
emotions. 

In many cases the sugar will disappear entirely 
from the urine after the first 24 hours of the test 
period. This shows that the case is a mild one. 

As soon as it has been demonstrated that the sugar 
has disappeared cornstarch in known amounts is 
added to the diet until sugar appears once more in 
the urine. The other conditions remaining the same, 
the amount of cornstarch that can be added to the 
diet until sugar just appears shows the carbohydrate 
digesting power of the patient. 

Some patients seem to consider the time of the test 
period as a very severe one ; others do not mind it 
much. As great variety as possible at the different 
meals, but still within the prescribed limits, should 
be offered ; the patient should be under close obser- 
vation, to see that carbohydrates are not eaten un- 
wittingly. 

Cases will also be found in which the strict test 
diet removes all sugar from the urine, and yet the 
smallest amount of starch brings it back again ; such 
cases would rank between the severe and the mild 
ones. The following facts should be remarked : Fats 
never cause sugar in the urine. Alcohol does not 
produce sugar in the urine. Exercise diminishes the 
sugar in mild cases and is then beneficial, but it in- 
creases it in severe cases and is then deleterious. 

In arranging a suitable dietary the following prin- 
ciples should prevail : 

For the mild cases : The amount of protein, such 



DIET FOR DIABETICS. 113 

as meat and cheese, need not be changed. The fatty 
food should be increased at the expense of the starch 
and sugar. If two ounces of bread are borne before 
sugar appears in the urine that much bread is al- 
lowed ; if six ounces of bread are borne that much is 
allowed. 

For the more severe cases : The proportion of the 
protein should be increased, the fats increased and a 
sufficient amount, but no more, of starchy and sac- 
charine food allowed to give the patient the maxi- 
mum of strength. 

In the severest cases, the ones in which urinary 
sugar persists upon the strict test diet, showing the 
case to be hopeless, the principle of giving the patient 
the greatest amount of comfort enters into the field ; 
in other words, the restriction must not be carried so 
far that in order to keep a little sugar out of the urine 
the patient is made very uncomfortable by severe de- 
privation. The protein should be somewhat decreased; 
the fat should be increased to the greatest extent pos- 
sible ; that is, all that the patient can digest should 
be given and pains should be taken to present it in 
various ways, so that it may not become offensive. 
Then that minimal amount of starch and sugar which 
has been proved in the case under treatment to be the 
best. 

It has been found that patients suffer more from 
the deprivation of bread than from any other form of 
starchy food, and it is well to give what starch is 
allowable in the form of bread. The lack of sugar is 
better borne, especially with some slight assistance 
from saccharin. 



114 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

The total amount of urinary sugar should be con- 
sidered, but too much stress need not be put upon 
that feature alone, as is sometimes done. If the pa- 
tient feels miserable and is gradually failing in 
strength he or she is not doing well, even if all the 
sugar has been driven out of the urine. 

The general prosperity, the feeling of well-being 
and the maintenance of the strength and body-weight 
of the patient has far greater importance than the 
amount of urinary sugar. 

In addition to these general rules, if acetone ap- 
pears in the urine or in the breath the amount of car- 
bohydrates should be immediately increased. (See 
Note IX.) 

Fat is better liked and better digested with carbo- 
hydrates than without them, and there is room for 
exercise of considerable ingenuity in making less ob- 
vious the fatty character of the food. Steamed and 
mashed potatoes may be made to carry a great deal of 
butter and cream without altering their flavor much. 
Spinach, turnips and salads may be made to do the 
same thing and serve as a vehicle for butter and olive 
oil. Bread or toast fried in bacon fat also serve a use- 
ful purpose, and when eggs are used they should be 
scrambled with an extra quantity of butter. 

A list of foods is here given, and their content so 
far as carbohydrates go. 

Foods that are practically free from carbohydrates : 
Meats of all kinds except liver, fish of all kinds, cheese 
of all kinds, cottage cheese, cream, eggs, fats and oils, 
Baker's chocolate, spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, aspara- 
gus, sauerkraut, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, 
gelatin, coffee, tea and whiskey. 



DIET FOR DIABETICS. 115 

Foods that contain a small amount only of carbo- 
hydrates, and are hence allowable in reduced quan- 
tity : Liver, giblets, shad-roe, sausage, turnip, oysters, 
clams, eggplant, string beans, radishes, walnuts, hazel- 
nuts, almonds, cocoanut, Brazil nuts, carrots, parsnips, 
beer. 

Foods that contain larger amounts of carbohydrates 
and hence are to be used in greatly reduced quanti- 
ties : Sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, sago, arrowroot, 
honey, bread, potatoes, rice, macaroni, apples, peaches, 
berries, plums, cherries, bananas and fruits in general. 

As great variety in food as is consistent with the 
object in view should be maintained. In substituting 
one carbohydrate for another, with this object an 
equivalent value rather than an equal amount should 
be given. Thus 2 ounces of stale bread contains as 
much carbohydrate as : 

1.2 ounce arrowroot. 

6 ounces white potatoes. 

1.5 ounce lentils. 

1.5 ounce cracked wheat. 

1.5 ounce rice. 

35 or 40 ounces tart apples. 

The great value of potatoes and apples in relieving 
the monotony of the restricted diet are evident at a 
glance. Milk is sometimes greatly missed by diabet- 
ics who have become habituated to its use, and may 
be prepared free from sugar by the following method : 

Warm one quart of milk to blood heat (100 F.) and 
add one fluiddram of hydrochloric acid diluted with 
three ounces of water. Stir and allow the mixture to 



116 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

stand for five or ten minutes. Collect the separated 
casein by straining the mixture on a fine strainer and 
allow to drain without pressure. Pour very slowly 
two pints of water upon the casein, stirring it, so as 
to remove most, if not all, of the acid. When it has 
drained dry, place in a mortar and rub to a smooth 
paste with 30 grains of potassium hydrate dissolved 
in three ounces of water. Add three ounces of rich 
cream and 50 grains of pure gelatin previously dis- 
solved in warm water, one grain of saccharin and 
water, to make one quart. 

This milk contains all the elements of milk except 
the sugar and salts and retains the flavor and taste of 
milk. 

The physician will meet certain cases excreting 
urinary sugar in spite of a very strict diet, whose sys- 
tem seems to resent the restrictions that have to be 
imposed. Although there is no good explanation for 
it, such cases may do well upon an entire change of 
food. They may be put upon Van Noorden's oatmeal 
regimen. It is applicable to severe cases only, as the 
milder cases do not do well on it. 

A good quality of rolled oats should be well cooked 
with the addition of a little salt and toward the end 
of the process a large proportion of butter added. As 
soon as the temperature falls below the coagulating 
point of albumen the whites of one or two eggs beaten 
to a light froth are stirred in. It is eaten without 
other addition. 

The quantities needed in a day by a person of aver- 
age weight are about as follows : 

Rolled oats, 8 to 12 ounces. 



DIET IN BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 117 

Egg whites, 5 to 6 ounces. 
Butter, 8 ounces. 

The butter should be of the finest quality and free 
from "off" flavors. Limited as this diet is, many 
patients prefer it to that which is usually recom- 
mended. Black coffee or tea without either sugar or 
milk is allowed, and Van Xoorden recommends an 
occasional vegetable day to relieve the monotony. 
In all cases except the severest ones he recommends 
an occasional period of a few days of the test diet, 
with the view of re-educating the system to absorb 
the carbohvdrates. 

Prognosis : Cases occurring in fleshy old people are 
apt to be mild ; the younger the patient and the leaner 
the more rapid and fatal the case. 

The amount of food eaten by diabetic patients must 
be larger than in health owing to the waste of carbo- 
hydrate in the urine. If the digestion is vigorous the 
amount of food may reach 48 ounces or more with 
advantage. The Calorie value will also run high 
owing to the increased proportion of fat, which we 
try to put in the diet ; 4,000 Calories is not too high, 
for the disadvantages and dangers of encumbered 
tissues disappear before the necessity of making up 
the waste that occurs in the urine and of keeping up 
the strength. 

DIET IN BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 

To avoid Bright's disease is of very much more im- 
portance than to give it the best dietetic treatment 
after it has been acquired. It is probably one of the 
most avoidable of the chronic diseases, if only a little 
self-restraint be employed habitually. 



118 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

Feasting, anxiety and sedentary habits are the three 
things that cause the great majority of the numerous 
cases of this fatal disease. If a man engage in poli- 
tics or in any business or profession that abounds in 
eating and drinking, that is accompanied with great 
nerve strain and little exercise, he had better look to 
it that about the time when he should be reaping the 
fruit of his labors, Bright's disease does not enter 
upon the scene and put a quietus upon all his enjoy- 
ments, if not upon himself. 

To run the risk of getting it is easy, to actually get 
it is not difficult ; the life that invites it is full of 
pleasurable excitement and the approach of ill health 
is so gradual that very frequently the disease is well 
seated before its unhappy possessor is at all aware 
that he is sick. 

To avoid the grip of this fatal disease live plainly 
and simply, and especially abstemiously. To be more 
specific, avoid, as you would the small -pox, course din- 
ners beginning with oysters and proceeding through 
a long series of gorges to a rich dessert, the whole be- 
ing- well floated in intercurrent drinks of stimulants. 

Eat regularly, eat lightly, chew persistently and 
never form the habit of eating simply as a habit ; that 
is, do not eat simply because it is mealtime. Con- 
sider what you are doing ; think of the matter ; select 
a moderate amount of nutritious food and eat it very 
slowly, in small mouthfuls, chewing pertinaciously. 
Cut out the worry as much as possible and take regu- 
lar exercise. 

When you have got it, that is a different matter ; 
death in an unpleasant form is impolite enough to 



DIET IN BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 119 

stare you in the face and there will then be no diffi- 
culty in inducing you to live in a rational manner. 

The rational indications for food in this disease are 
to give the kidneys as little work as possible and to 
avoid such substances as irritate them. It is nitro- 
genous waste that frets the kidneys, but they also 
have water and earthy and alkaline salts to eliminate. 

Acute Bright' s Disease. — The dietetic treatment 
of acute nephritis, whether due to one of the ex- 
anthematous diseases or to cold and exposure, that is 
recommended in standard text-books, seems to be ill- 
advised. A standard work has the following : " The 
diet should consist of milk or buttermilk, gruel made 
of arrowroot, or oatmeal, barley water, and, if neces- 
sary, beef tea and chicken broth. It is better, if pos- 
sible, to confine the patient to a strictly milk diet." 
As the relative proportion of nitrogen to carbon is 
very different in milk and in oatmeal, and as arrow- 
root has no nitrogen at all in its composition, there 
can be no propriety in recommending either the one 
or the other as an alternative. The rules for diet in 
acute Bright's disease are extremely simple — let the 
patient go as nearly without any food or drink as pos- 
sible. The kidneys need rest above all things ; they 
need rest more than the body needs food. If owing 
to bodily weakness or from some other reason the 
doctor thinks some food necessary, then give a little 
arrowroot, but give as little as possible — just enough 
to effect your purpose. 

The stereotyped advice to give an exclusive milk 
diet in acute Bright's disease is wrong in principle 
and bad in its effect. The world is yet suffering from 



120 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

the idea coming down from past ages — if there is any- 
thing the matter with yon take something for it. We 
are always taking something but never does it occur 
to people to give rest to overworked and damaged 
organs. 

As has been pointed out in another section, the 
products of the metabolism of nitrogen are a row of 
crystalline bodies, most of which are insoluble and 
some hard and gritty. The elimination of these nitro- 
genous bodies is a tax upon the kidneys, and espe- 
cially undesirable in acute Bright's disease, where 
there is the most imperative need for functional rest 
of those organs. The plain indications are entire ab- 
stinence from both food and drink ; even water should 
be restricted to the lowest ebb for a time. 

When it becomes necessary that nourishment 
should be taken, only a limited amount of food, easy 
of elimination, should be allowed. Milk, chocolate, 
buttermilk, oats, barley, beef tea, chicken broth should 
be strictly forbidden. Only non-nitrogenous or 
slightly nitrogenous food should be selected. Such 
are paps or gruels made without milk, of arrowroot, 
tapioca or cornstarch. Sugar and a little cream may 
be used to increase their palatabilitv. 

Meat and heavy foods should not be resumed until 
convalescence is over and the health thoroughly 
established. During convalescence milk may be al- 
lowed with toast or milk and rice, tapioca, sago and 
a little fruit. 

Chronic Bright's Disease. — Under this caption are 
here included all varieties of chronic inflammation of 
the kidneys ; they are often indistinguishable from 



DIET IN BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 121 

each other, and the same dietetic regulations apply 
very well to all the forms. 

The first rule is total abstinence from alcohol ; this 
should be without exception. 

Spices such as pepper, both black and red, allspice, 
nutmeg and flavors depending upon volatile oils, 
coffee and tea and diuretics, such as onions, aspara- 
gus or parsley, are not to be recommended. 

The loss of albumin in the urine is seldom found to 
be of amount sufficient to make any perceptible 
difference in the protein of the body, so that it is not 
necessary to increase that element of food in the 
dietary. 

It is of especial importance to avoid nucleins and 
the extractive matters of meat, such as occur in 
glandular organs, sweet-breads, liver, kidneys and the 
like, meat soups and extracts. 

The allowable articles are numerous ; the main 
point is that the amount would better be restricted 
somewhat. They include bread, toast, cottage cheese, 
rice, honey, bacon, cheese, figs, dates, grapes, ordi- 
nary vegetables, rich milk and fruit. Such a list in- 
cludes enough to satisfy a reasonable patient, and 
avoids those things which have probably brought the 
disease on. 

Breakfast : The following are offered simply as 
samples : Two rolls and a cup of cocoa, an orange 
and oatmeal porridge ; or the same with the addition 
of an egg ; or one-half pint of cream with two rolls 
and some raisins. 

Lunch : Bread and honey, rice with cream and 
sugar, bread and butter, potatoes and fruit for dessert. 
9 



122 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

Supper : Crackers and cheese, or cottage cheese and 
caraway seeds, or bread and milk and figs, or toast, 
cocoa and cornstarch pudding. 

If the patient retires about ten, that is, as late as 
four hours after supper, a sandwich made -of cottage 
cheese and caraway seed or cold tongue may be eaten 
before retiring. 

In regard to drinking, water is the best bever- 
age, but its use should be somewhat restricted, i. <?., 
to about three pints a day for a man of ordinary 
weight. 

The above is simply to serve as a sample, and not 
intended as an arbitrary arrangement. The patient 
should not be allowed to lose weight, and after a 
week's trial the further diet and the amount eaten 
may be regulated by the result of the previous week. 

DIETETIC TREATMENT OF GOUT. 

As soon as an individual feels some symptoms of 
the oncoming of gout let him read Benjamin Frank- 
lin's dialogue with that disease in Poor Richard's 
Almanac. Though penned by the sage one hundred 
and sixty years ago, its truth and practical wisdom 
make it as valuable to-day as when first written. It 
is a disease almost completely under the control of 
dietetic regulations. 

Although there are still some obscurities about the 
pathology of gout, authorities are in practical agree- 
ment upon the question of the close relation between 
it and uric acid. Now, uric acid is one of that series 
of crystalline products frequently mentioned before in 
connection with the metabolism of protein, especially 



DIETETIC TREATMENT OF GOUT. 123 

protein of animal origin. The nitrogenous bodies 
nuclein, xanthin, hypoxanthin, and some others found 
in animal food, and the caffeine and thein in coffee 
and tea, when introduced into the body result in the 
production of uric acid. A very small, constant 
amount also is formed in the body by its own pro- 
cesses, quite uninfluenced by the quality of the food 
we consume. 

Uric acid is a hard, gritty, crystalline, extremely 
insoluble substance, requiring 18,000 parts of pure 
water to dissolve one part. A weak alkaline solution 
greatly increases its solubility. 

With these data it may be easily comprehended 
how a limited amount of this insoluble principle may 
be held in solution in the blood and other alkaline 
fluids and circulate through the system and be elim- 
inated with difficulty in neutral or feebly acid urine. 
But if, owing to over-eating, more of it be intro- 
duced than the fluids can hold in solution, there may 
be a sudden precipitation of the offending substance 
into the least alkaline part of the body, i. e., where 
there is no rapid blood current, in the tissues around 
joints, usually the small joints farthest away from the 
heart, like the great toe. 

The sharp, hard crystals, bursting out of solution 
into and through the tissues of the joint, cause ex- 
quisite pain, and thus you have an attack of gout. 

The amount of uric acid that the blood is capable 
of holding in solution varies from time to time, ac- 
cording to the degree of its alkalinity. Activity in 
fresh air and sunlight, by increasing the alkalinity of 
the fluids, may hold an amount in solution that would 



124 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

bring on a severe attack of gout in the impure air of 
the fireside or in a damp, chilly, cloudy atmosphere. 

An amount that the system could easily hold in 
abeyance under ordinary circumstances might be im- 
mediately precipitated by free indulgence in wine, 
lemonade, beer or buttermilk. The tartaric acid in 
the wine, the citric acid in the lemon or the lactic 
acid in the beer and buttermilk (as the case may be) 
so reduces the blood alkalinity that the uric acid can 
no longer be retained, and the consequence is an at- 
tack of gout or of rheumatism. 

Muscular action results in the local formation of an 
acid, nearly identical with the acid of sour milk, 
called sarcolactic acid (Note X). Severe exercise of 
a group of muscles causes local acidity ; this produces 
local precipitation of uric acid, with local stiffness 
and soreness of the overused muscles. Everyone has 
experienced such stiffness in parts of the body as the 
result of violent exercise. 

Aside from hereditary tendency, which also is a 
factor, gout is caused by : 

Overeating of uric acid-producing foods, or 

By an overplus of acid beverages, one or both, or 

By any circumstance that diminishes the power 
of the blood to hold the offending substance in solu- 
tion. 

Acute gout is less common than formerly, but 
many forms of chronic, ill-defined ill-health having 
their roots in the same condition of the system as that 
just spoken of are becoming more common. Instead 
of running lapidly into the tissues of a joint with ex- 
quisite pain, the noxious substance slowly accumu- 



DIETETIC TREATMENT OF GOUT. 125 

lates in the body in localities out of the rapidly mov- 
ing blood currents, just as the floating debris of a 
river collects in the quieter corners out of the reach 
of the flowing tide ; perhaps it gradually forms gouty 
concretions around the joints of the fingers, or, as oc- 
casionally happens, in the ear. In other cases, it is 
gradually deposited in the walls of arteries, making 
them stiff and inelastic, and laying the train for an 
apoplectic seizure. In still others it may eat into the 
heart walls, causing a granular degeneration of its 
muscular fiber, winding up the earthly career of the 
patient with some form of cardiac insufficiency. In 
still others it may disintegrate the texture of the 
kidneys, so interfering with their function that life 
is closed by uremic poisoning. 

These insidious diseased conditions are to be 
avoided by the same dietetic rules as acute gout, and 
fortunately the indications are very clear. They are : 

ist. Reduce the total amount of food. 

2d. Abstain from eating glandular organs, such 
as kidneys, liver, sweetbreads, pancreas, mountain 
oysters, goose liver pies, spleen, etc.; also meat ex- 
tracts and bouillons, meats and fish. 

3d. Live on milk, eggs, bread and vegetables, and 
after six months of it add as much fruit as you please. 

After six months to a year of such careful living 
the acids of fruit can do no harm. It is the combina- 
tion of the above forbidden articles and acids that is 
so destructive. Fresh air and regular exercise greatly 
aid a wise diet. Persistence in the above will cure 
the worst cases of acquired gout or any disease based 
on uric acid, and will greatly ameliorate the heredi- 
tary forms. No drugs are needed. 



126 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



DIET IN HEART DISEASE. 

For valvular insufficiency with dropsy, restriction 
of fluids and dry foods are beneficial. The fluid con- 
sumed should be limited to 20 ounces a day and taken 
in quantities of a gill at a time. Two or three slices 
of dry toast and butter and a soft egg with 5. ounces 
of coffee and no water for breakfast. 

The midday meal may consist of meat, toast, butter 
and tapioca pudding. For supper, white-fish, potato, 
one cup of tea and a simple pudding. 

After a time a more liberal list must be allowed, 
especially as the appetite will demand it and the pa- 
tient rebel against too much uniform it v. This restric- 
tion serves not only to diminish the fluids of the 
body, but also to revive a flagging appetite. After such 
a period of abstemiousness the patient is glad to get 
the plainest food. There is an idea here that physi- 
cians seldom think of employing which is extremely 
beneficial in many cases. Starvation, or at least ex- 
tremely frugal living, even to the point of great 
weakness, is the only dietary that can possibly benefit 
aneurism. Valsalva's diet for aneurism is a little 
bread and water, not over one-half pound per day. 
Tufnell's diet, being more liberal, can be maintained 
for a longer period. It consists of 3 ounces of meat^ 
4 ounces of milk, 4 ounces of bread and butter and 3 
ounces of claret daily. The principle to be observed, 
is to increase the coagulability of the blood and thus 
effect spontaneous cure. Gelatinous foods are also 
beneficial. (Note XI.) 

In stout people with fat around the heart, but with 



DIET IN OBESITY. 127 

no degeneration of the heart muscle, a lean meat and 
tea diet, with not more than six slices of buttered 
toast in 24. hours, is very beneficial. It should be 
combined with vigorous exercise in the open air, such 
as hill climbing. 

Fatty degeneration of the heart requires, on the 
contrary, rest, freedom from excitement and an easily 
digestible diet, rich in phosphatic salts. Spinach, 
potatoes, asparagus, macaroni, eggs, especially the 
yolk, whitefish, chicken, bananas, milk with dialyzed 
iron as recommended under anemia, toast, stale bread 
and desserts of gelatine and junket form a list of 
sufficient variety. In all forms of weak heart no food 
should be taken between meals, the principal meal 
should be in the middle of the day and there should 
be a steady guard maintained against overdilution of 
the system with fluids. (Note XII.) 

DIET IN OBESITY. 

The obese condition may be due to a hereditary 
tendency, but is far oftener traceable to lack of exer- 
cise and overeating. The physician will find many 
people the victims of self-deception, in that they de- 
clare themselves to be small eaters, when a slight in- 
vestigation will reveal that such is not the case. A 
variety of treatments has been advocated to reduce 
weight, ranging from the taking of drugs, such as 
fucus vesiculosis, phytolacca berry juice and diluted 
potassium hydrate, to the wearing of mystic girdles 
and light eating. 

Any fat person who is in good health may bring 
about a wonderful decrease in fat and body-weight in 



128 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

a few weeks by confining the food to lean broiled 
meat and weak, hot tea sweetened with saccharin. 
The load of monotony may be lightened occasionally 
by a couple of eggs and by two thin slices of buttered 
bread or toast at a meal. 

The reduction is in proportion to the strictness with 
which the individual observes the diet, and the 
regimen loses its effectiveness rapidly if starchy or 
sweet food is introduced to any extent. Plenty of 
exercise in the open air greatly aids and obviates 
some of the ill effects that so much nitrogenous food 
may entail. Individuals who are anemic as well as 
fat do not stand this regimen very well. It irritates 
the system, making them unhappy and restless. 

Such a course of living is very effective in reducing 
weight, but it has the disadvantage of introducing the 
difficult products of nitrogenous metabolism into the 
system in great abundance and opens the door to rheu- 
matic and gouty affections. Full directions for its 
employment are given in another section. 

A more rational method, and a safer one, is to fast 
for two or three days and then, when an appetite has 
developed that contemplates the plainest food with 
lively pleasure, begin a course of slow methodical 
chewing of the usual diet, restricting the amount to 
about one-half the usual quantity. 

Foods that fill the stomach without greatly in- 
creasing the Calories are tomatoes, spinach, sauer- 
kraut, radishes, celery, cucumbers and asparagus. 
Meat, bread, butter, tea and coffee may also be used; 
all in moderation. Reason must rule over appetite. 
Water should^be restricted in every form of fat-reduc- 



DIET IN TYPHOID FEVER. 129 

ing diet except the meat and hot tea regimen. In 
that case water is necessary to defecate the tissues. 

DIET FOR THE EEAN. 

If a thin individual enjoys good health he had better 
be content and not interfere with the dispensations of 
nature. If leanness exists in spite of a tremendous 
appetite the condition probably calls for careful atten- 
tion. Wasting away or persistent leanness in spite of 
a liberal diet is generally promptly cured by sweet- 
breads, eaten once a day, the other food remaining as 
usual. This peculiar action is probably due to the 
almost medicinal action of the minute amount of 
iodine which sweetbreads contain. The simple plan 
of eating candy, in addition to the ordinary meals, 
has proved very fattening in a number of cases. In 
one case popped rice, eaten at odd times during the 
day, proved so fat-producing that the patient was 
scarcely recognized by her friends in the course of a 
few months. The point is to add some palatable 
form of starch and sugar over and above the usual 
diet. 

DIET IN TYPHOID FEVER. 

The various and opposing principles that have 
ruled at different periods, in regard to the feeding of 
typhoid fever patients, are fine examples of the pendu- 
lum-like oscillation of medical opinion. There was a 
time when fever patients were denied both food and 
drink to an extreme and arbitrary degree. There 
was a time when they were overfed, especially with 
the mischievous beef-tea and beef-extract prepara- 



130 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

tions. Then came the time of light diet, again fol- 
lowed by that celebrated Dr. Graves who desired for 
an epitaph " I fed fevers." He probably overdid it, 
for most standard works of the present time are in 
favor of a light diet. 

Anders advises a liquid diet, chiefly plain milk di- 
luted with water; the daily qnantity to be not less than 
three pints. If this be not well borne a little brandy, 
coffee or tea is to be added. These failing or dis- 
agreeing, whey, sonr milk or butter-milk are to be 
tried. When milk cannot be digested it may be re- 
placed by meat broths, together with one of the 
standard infant foods, or by albumen-water suitably 
flavored. 

Osier recommends milk, three pints at least in 24 
hours, always diluted; if curds appear in the stool he 
advises the substitution of mutton, chicken or beef 
broths for all or part of the milk. He also says thin 
barley-gruel, strained, is an excellent food for typhoid 
fever patients. Albumen-water flavored with lemon 
and fortified with whisky or brandy is also recom- 
mended by Osier. Such, or practically such, are the 
dietetic directions in most other standard works. 

Medical opinion, however, never remains station- 
ary; it swungs like a pendulum; and Bushuyez has ad- 
vocated a more liberal dietary. His typhoid patients 
begin the day with a roll and tea on waking ; 8 a. m., 
14 ounces of gruel with butter; 9 a. m., one or two 
boiled eggs; 10 a. m., a glass of milk, a roll, half a 
cutlet and a piece of boiled meat; 12 m., a bowd of soup 
and a little jelly; 3 p. m., tea and a roll ; 6 p. m., a 
cup of soup, a bit of chicken and milk pudding; 8 p. 
m., a roll and milk. 



DIET IN TYPHOID FEVER. 131 

During the night, coffee or tea with milk is allowed 
several times. These ideas are gradually spreading 
and articles are occasionally appearing in the medical 
journals advocating the new liberal diet in typhoid. 
As soon as the plan is well established, the pendulum 
will swing to the other side, a reaction will occur and 
a period of light diet will follow. These dietaries are 
mentioned only to show how ill advised they are, and 
to contrast them with a more rational method. 

Consider the following facts: Typhoid fever is 
characterized by great torpidity of the involuntary 
functions. Digestion and absorption are sluggish, 
the digestive juices are less active, the amount of 
hydrochloric acid in the stomach is diminisl ed, the 
bile is less active and peristalsis is lessened. The in- 
testines are ulcerated, and all food must pass through 
this inflamed, ulcerated, torpid tube, and in every 
membrane in the body osmosis is lessened. Put these 
facts alongside of that other important fact that it has 
been abundantly proved that entire abstinence from 
food may be endured with safety for forty days or 
more. 

The deduction is plain ; here is a condition of the 
system that needs rest from the functions of digestion 
and absorption, for it is only able to digest slowly and 
with difficulty and to absorb sluggishly. It has been 
proved that forty or more days' abstinence from food 
can be gone through with entire safety. It follows 
plainly that the typhoid fever patient is better off 
without any food at all. The plan of feeding such a 
patient is simply part of the old, enrooted supersti- 
tion, that when anything is wrong with the health) 



132 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



u 



take something." It is always "take something" 
instead of giving the disordered organ rest. 

The proper diet for the average typhoid fever pa- 
tient is water ; water pure and fresh, cool or hot as 
desired, but only water. This is not theory alone ; 
experience proves that patients so fed recover in a 
shorter time, they have fewer complications, with 
slight sequelae and infrequent relapses. They do bet- 
ter than on any other diet that has ever been devised ; 
it robs the disease of half its terrors and of more 
than half its dangers. 

The advantages of this plan are, a short run of 
fever, few complications, slight sequelae, infrequent 
relapses, rapid convalescence and speedy return of full 
vigor. This is the general rule for cases occurring in 
the well-fed or overfed people of the present day. 

The exceptions are rare; they occur when an 
emaciated individual, already in a weak, half-starved 
condition, comes down with an attack of typhoid. 
Such cases are sure to show great exhaustion and signs 
of cardiac weakness, early in the course of the dis- 
ease. We must here choose the lesser of two evils ; the 
patient has no surplus of tissue on which to depend 
during the fever and we must therefore take the risk 
of putting food in his enfeebled system. 

There is no natural appetite to serve as a guide and 
the physician must be directed by his observation of 
the digestive pow r ers of his patient. The stools 
should be watched for undigested food and the effect 
of eating, upon the temperature should be noticed. 

The general rule should be protein-sparers during 
the fever, and tissue-builders after the fever and dur- 



DIET FOR CONSUMPTIVES. 133 

ing convalescence. The first class, to be used during 
the fever, includes gelatinoids and carbohydrates, such 
as acidulous gelatine preparations, and any starchy 
or saccharine foods that agree with the patient. 
Rice water, thin tapioca or sago gruels, wine jelly, or 
lemon jelly, are examples of suitable foods for this 
period. 

The second class includes such foods as eggs, milk 
and meat, strong protein foods for repairing the tis- 
sues after the fever is over. While the patient is still 
weak, albumen-water, or milk and lime water, one 
tablespoonful of the latter to a glass, are strong enough, 
but should be replaced by stronger preparations as the 
digestive powers become more capable of performing 
their functions. 

DIET FOR CONSUMPTIVES. 

This formidable disease is so prevalent and so fatal 
that we should make no mistake in giving advice 
about its management, for every mistake is liable to 
work harm to thousands. Between 7,000 and 8,000 
people died of consumption in 1904 in the state of 
Illinois alone. In situation, soil, climate and family 
comforts, Illinois is equal, or superior, to any state in 
the Union, so that this enormous death rate probably 
applies to the United States as a whole. 

Consumption is a wasting disease, the fat of the 
body is first consumed, then the protein; the problem 
that confronts the dietetist is to keep in nutritional 
equilibrium a body that, in addition to the ordinary 
wear and tear of life, is being burned up by disease. 
The disease is well named "consumption." It is an 



134 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

obvious inference that an extra amount of food is 
needed and forced feeding is now generally advised. 
This is a mistake. Food forced on the patient with- 
out appetite, or even with a disgust for it, is worse 
than wasted ; it is a drag on the vitality. The exer- 
cise in the open air, very generally advised for all 
cases, is also a fatal mistake for those with fever. 
Exercise in the open air is excellent as a general 
proposition, but not for the consumptive. The same 
may be said of deep inspirations. Both of these 
should be recommended — highly recommended — as a 
means of preventing consumption in those who may 
be hereditarily inclined to it, but the disease once 
established, all this doctrine needs to be changed. 
Rest in the open air is what is needed, rest for the 
body, and rest for the mind, freedom from physical 
labor, freedom from mental worry, and the whole ex- 
istence in the open air. with as much of wisely se- 
lected food as the appetite demands, but not more. 

When the fever abates, exercise should be gradually 
and guardedly substituted for the quietude of the 
acute stage. Smoke, vapors, dust, exercise, excite- 
ment and crowds should all be avoided. It is very 
rare that one sees a fat consumptive ; it is therefore 
the fat of the body that is first used up as food for the 
disease ; but very soon the protein of the body under- 
goes waste. With the idea of opposing the prevailing 
phthisical leanness, fatty food has been highly recom- 
mended. It has probably been carried to an ex- 
treme. When protein is undergoing rapid destruc- 
tion, no amount of fat can replace a single molecule 
of it. The same is true of gelatine, although it has 



DIET FOR CONSUMPTIVES. 135 

not been so extensively tried. Gelatine is a more 
powerful protein-sparer than fat, and more attention 
should be paid to supplying it in consumptive cases. 

In a case of consumption, in a fair condition of 
strength, the attempt to spare the patient's protein by 
gelatine and fat should be made. Gelatine prepara- 
tions and bacon, butter and olive oil should be eaten 
to the full extent of the appetite at regular meals. 
Other foods are not interdicted, of course, but these 
should occupy first place. If this diet, with rest in 
the, open air, prevents loss of body- weight and lessens 
the fever, well and good ; nothing more is necessary 
except the cautious and gradual substitution of ex- 
ercise for the rest previously enforced. 

If, however, loss of weight keeps on, with daily 
fever, this class of food should be put aside and the 
chief place given to tissue-builders, i. e., meat, milk 
and eggs. The particular articles of food may be 
varied to suit the appetite of the patient, but the 
general principle should rule of having protein in 
some form occupy the chief place. This method is 
many times better than the indiscriminate forcing of 
fat food on the patient with the result of producing a 
chronic distaste for all food. 

Doctor Russell, of New York, whose experience 
with consumptives is very large, recommends forced 
feeding with fat, and the use of the uncooked juice of 
fresh, succulent vegetables. If his results are care- 
fully studied and the effects of energetic, methodical 
care upon such cases are discounted, this plan will 
not be found better than manv others. It has been 
applied energetically and methodically to a large 



136 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

number of cases, hence the good results. It is certain 
that neither the vegetable juices nor the suet emul- 
sion are a cure for consumption, and too much em- 
phasis should not be placed upon them. The good 
results are due to care in place of neglect, attention in 
place of indifference, cleanliness in place of filth, and 
outdoor air in place of the poisoned air of stuffy and 
infected rooms. These things should first be attended 
to, then a fatty and gelatinous diet to the full extent 
of the patient's appetite, but not more. If the sub- 
cutaneous fat of the patient has all been used up, 
then increase protein in the food rather than fat. 
Very few consumptives need die of consumption if the 
above details are strictly carried out. 

DIET IN FLOATING KIDNEY AND DISPLACED ORGANS 

GENERALLY. 

The kidney, womb or other organs should be put in 
their normal position as nearly as possible and held 
there by a bandage corset, pessary or tampon as re- 
quired. 

The patient should then be put in bed in the open 
air or on a porch, or at most allowed very little ex- 
ercise. 

The diet should be cream, sugar, olive oil, oatmeal, 
barley, rice, Indian meal and bacon in as large quan- 
tities as the digestion will tolerate. The idea is to 
cause a gain of ten to twenty pounds in body weight 
during the period of restricted exercise. This ad- 
ditional tissue will frequently accumulate in the 
cellular tissue arormd the parenchymatous organs and 
retain them permanently in place. 



DIETETIC COURSE FOR CHRONIC ILL-HEALTH. 137 



A SHORT DIETETIC COURSE FOR CHRONIC ILL-HEALTH. 

There are thousands of people, who, without being 
sick enough to stay in bed, are never quite well. 
They are not, as a rule, affected with any definite dis- 
ease according to the nosology of medical science. 

They go from physician to physician, without re- 
lief ; they consume vast quantities of patent medicine 
or dose themselves abundantly with domestic rem- 
edies without benefit. The tendency they are apt to 
show, is towards chronic invalidism and hypochondria. 
To such patients the following advice, followed 
strictly for from three weeks to two months, will 
prove an elixir of new life and strength. 

First : Stop absolutely all drugs and medicines. 

Second : Sip slowly two coffee cups of hot water 
one hour before each. meal. 

Third : Eat broiled beef or mutton and nothing 
else at every meal. 

The hot water must be actually hot ; so hot that it 
can not be drunk ; it must be sipped. 

It should not be sweetened, nor salted, nor mixed 
with a little cream or milk or tea. It must be taken 
not nearer to a meal than sixty minutes. Two cupfuls 
must be taken for every 150 pounds of body weight, 
more may be taken if desired. 

After ten days, one ordinary slice of buttered bread 
or toast is allowed at each meal. 

Less than three weeks of this diet is not effective ; 
more than two months of it is too long without con- 
sultation with a physician. 

10 



138 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



SPICES AND CONDIMENTS. 

In general these articles are devoid of nutritive 
value ; they increase the palatability of food and often 
by their delicate and appetizing flavor cause people to 
eat more than is good for them. They stimulate the 
flow of saliva and of the gastric juice by virtue of 
their heating and carminative properties, and produce 
a subsequent languor in the digestive organs. By 
accustoming the palate to high flavors they dull it 
and make it insensible to the hundred and one deli- 
cate natural flavors of unseasoned food. 

The black and white pepper produce a stimulating 
and congestive effect upon the urethra; in sensitive in- 
dividuals this effect may be very annoying. 

Cayenne or red pepper when much used or in sensi- 
tive temperaments, produces considerable relaxation) 
especially of the rectal tissues. 

Nutmeg has a powerful medicinal action ; it fre- 
quently causes dryness of the mouth and a stupid, 
sleepy condition. 

Condiments should have a very slight place in the 
kitchen and no place at all with those who desire to 
cultivate a delicate perception of the delicious natural 
flavors of plain food. 



BAKING POWDERS. 

The large financial interest involved in the baking 
powder business is responsible for the industrious dis- 
semination of much misinformation upon the subject. 

The testimony of experts and chemists is. abund- 
antly used, and it cannot be said that the clear-eyed 



BAKING POWDERS. 139 

goddess Truth has much to do with the matter. The 
safest course for the public would be to reject all pro- 
prietary baking powders ; the housewife or cook 
should learn how to make baking powder ; it should 
be made in every kitchen. 

Many of the much advertised powders contain some 
form of alum salt. Many contain some salt of phos- 
phoric acid, none of which should be used. 

The levigation of dough by means of baking 
powder is the least sanitary method of any that is 
used. It has, however, the advantage of saving time 
and trouble, and also of requiring little skill in the 
cook. In its best form, baking powder cannot be 
said to be very insanitary. No baking powders on 
the market, so far as they have been examined by 
me, were found free from objectionable features, ex- 
cept one sample made by a very small manufacturer 
who did all his own retailing. In this case purity 
was probably owing to the manufacturer's ignorance 
of how to adulterate. The safest rule is to reject all 
commercial varieties and make your own product, by 
the following formula : 

Cream of tartar (guaranteed 99 per cent.) . 1 pound 

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) y 2 pound 

Cornstarch , y 2 pound 

Mix thoroughly by sifting several times through a 
moderately fine sieve, and keep in a well-corked 
bottle. 

Cream of tartar is frequently adulterated with a 
considerable per cent, of calcium tartrate, but the 
" guaranteed 99 per cent" can easily be obtained and 
should be insisted on. 



1-40 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 



NOTES. 

I. The lack of uniformity in the nomenclature of 
the principles of food has resulted in some degree of 
confusion. In some works, the term proteids refers 
to what is here called albuminoids, and the term albu- 
minoids to what is here called gelatinoids. The names 
and classification given in the text are the ones recom- 
mended at a recent meeting of the American Associ- 
ation of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- 
tions. In the interests of uniformity it should be 
generally adopted by all writers upon the subject. 

II. There probably exist numerous particulars in 
the role performed by various foods, which are not 
adequately indicated by any of their threefold func- 
tions, and with which we are very slightly acquainted. 
No modern writers, as far as we know, allow for any 
other function than the supply of the necessary ele- 
ments for the maintenance of tissue-integrity and the 
production of heat and energy. Hutchinson says: 
"It is a matter of indifference, as far as the cells of 
the body are concerned, whether we feed a man on 
egg-white, gelatin, butter or sugar, always supposing 
that these are supplied in the proportion of their 
dynamic equivalents." In opposition to this doctrine 
is the fact that during pregnancy and in states of ill- 
health there often exists a strong craving for some 
particular article of food, which no other article, not 
even the exact dynamic equivalent of the one craved, 



NOTES. 141 

will satisfy. The benefit frequently experienced from 
the gratification of such cravings seems to argue an 
organic need of that article rather than a mere appe- 
tite or fancy. 

Then, again, what is commonly classed under the 
head of idiosyncrasy is really a peculiar effect or 
function of food, over and above the three general 
ones. Fresh milk, for instance, produces diarrhoea in 
certain individuals; eggs cause headache, gastric 
catarrh and sulphurous eructations with some people; 
cornmeal, an excellent food for most people, is pro- 
ductive of headache and fever in others. Veal fre- 
quently causes diarrhoea ; shell fish are responsible for 
many cases of urticaria. A fine itching rash is a not 
infrequent result of the buckwheat season, when 
buckwheat cakes are found on almost every breakfast 
table. There is nothing intrinsically improbable 
about the long continued use of certain foods produc- 
ing certain results in the human body. There is 
nothing to be gained by a blunt denial without in- 
vestigation ; what is needed is experiment and obser- 
vation upon the subject. 

III. Before the recent experiments of Atwater, with 
improved apparatus, the figures were : 

Protein 4.1 Calories 

Carbohydrates 4.1 " 

Fat 9.3 " 

IV. Fine white bread receives very unjust treat- 
ment at the hands of some of the would-be reformers 
in the popular health magazines and daily papers; it 
has been pronounced a poison and deleterious to 



142 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

health by a popular writer, who counts her readers by 
the hundred thousand ; one health journal, with a 
very large circulation, calls it absolutely innutritious 
and " devoid of nutritive value." 

It is unfortunate that writers who have the ability 
to command the attention of such a large number of 
readers should take so little trouble to ascertain the 
facts of the matter. They write rather from prejudice 
than from truth. 

It has been proved to a superfluity that white bread 
made from patent flour yields more nourishment than 
the coarser breads, such as Graham. Here are the 
facts in a summary : 

Of Graham, entire-wheat and patent flours, all 
milled from the same lot of hard spring wheat, the 
patent flour yielded a larger percentage of available 
protein and available energy than either of the other 
two. This was by careful physiological tests. It is 
only by chemical analyses that the Graham flour 
shows a higher per cent, of protein and takes a higher 
rank in calories ; the lower digestibility of the coarser 
flour bread is due to the fact that a considerable por- 
tion of its protein is in the bran, and so resists the 
action of the digestive juices and escapes digestion. 

The reputation of the coarser breads is based upon 
chemical analyses, uncorrected by experiments with 
actual digestion. 

The fine white bread is therefore a better food for 
muscular labor, for it gives up more energy weight 
for weight. The coarser flour breads, however, have 
certain advantages ; they are better for sedentary 
livers, for constipated individuals and for children. 

V. The great value of the potato in scurvy is strik- 



NOTES. 143 

ingly illustrated in Dana's account of a voyage from 
California to Boston in his " Two Years Before the 
Mast." One of the crew afflicted with scurvy was 
nearly in extremis ; the teeth were completely com 
cealed in the swollen and bleeding gums. Raw 
potato, scraped, and the pulp placed on his tongue, 
effected a speedy cure. 

VI. The sulphur in mustard and horseradish is 
plainly shown by the blackening effect they have 
upon silver spoons. 

VII. Warren Hastings always attributed the small- 
ness of his stature and his slender figure to the hard 
and scanty fare of the school at Newington, near 
London, which he attended at the growing age of 
eight. 

VIII. Normal salt solution, in a surgical and thera- 
peutic sense, should be carefully distinguished from 
normal salt solution in a chemical sense. When 
normal salt solution is spoken of in the first sense, a 
.6 per cent, solution is referred to ; it is approximately 
a slightly heaping teaspoonful to a quart of lukewarm 
water (86 grains to a quart). In a chemical sense 
the same name applies to 58.8 grams to the liter, a 
solution nine times as strong as the other. 

IX. Unfortunately there is no reliable test for 
acetone in the urine that does not involve distillation, 
a process that not many practitioners have the con- 
veniences for performing. The following test does 
not certainly show acetone to be present, but it is sig- 
nificant enough to indicate that the carbohydrates 
had better be increased. 

Add 12 drops of liquor ferri chloridi to one-half 
fluid-ounce of the urine. Filter through paper to re- 



144 CHEMISTRY OF FOOD. 

move the precipitated phosphates, and to the clear 
filtrate add 12 more drops ; a claret red shows the 
probable presence of acetone and indicates a greater 
liberality in carbohydrates. The non-appearance of 
the claret color shows absence of acetone. 

X. Acting upon the theory that the muscular stiff- 
ness of violent exercise is due to a local acidity of the 
muscles, with precipitation of colloid uric acid or its 
congeners, I have prescribed 30 to 50 grains of sodium 
bicarbonate, in a glass of water, shortly after severe 
exertion, such as a foot race or a prize fight, with 
marked success. The increase in the alkalinity of 
the fluids of the body redissolves the precipitated 
substance and carries it off into the general circula- 
tion, to be subsequently eliminated. 

XL The uses of hunger in the treatment of disease 
have not been sufficiently studied. In this age of 
abundance, many people never get hungry ; they keep 
themselves in a chronic state of repletion and invalid- 
ism, with no appetency for food and no vigor of body. 
We advise anyone troubled with a chronic lack of 
appetite to simply drop the accustomed meals and 
fast until appetite comes. Outdoor exercise at the 
same time will greatly accelerate the successful result. 

XII. The disagreeable and distressing effects of 
potassium iodide are greatly lessened by copious 
dilution with water. Hence, during a course of this 
drug, it is usually advisable to have the patient drink 
copiously of water. 

If, from any reason, water cannot be allowed, as in 
aneurism, a correspondingly small dose of the iodide 
must be used, and will then be found to have a nearly 
equal effect. 



INDEX. 



Absorbability of food, 18 

Acetone, 143 

Acid eructations, 103 

Albuminoids, 1 1 

Alcohol, 66 

Amount of food daily, 22 

Age, old, 88 

Aneurism, 126 

Anaemia, 99 

Analysis of cereals, 45 

Analysis of oysters, 43 

Analysis of fish, 42 

Analysis of pulses, 54 

Analysis of potatoes, 55 

Analysis of nuts, 63 

Artificial feeding of infants, 75 

Ash of fruits, 61 

Athletic training, 41 

Baking powder, 138 

Barley, 50 

Beer, 70 

Beans, 53 

Brain workers, food for, 93 

Bread, 19, 47, 141 

Bread, cost of, 49 

Bread, salt-rising, 49 

Bread and milk, 97 

Bright's disease, prevention ot, 

117 
Bright's disease, acute, 119 
Bright's disease, chronic, 120 
Buckwheat, 50 



Butter, 50, 71 
Buttermilk, 34 
Butterine, 71 

Cabbages, 56 
Carbohydrates, 12 
Carbohydrates, elimination of, 

21 

Carbohydrates of milk, 30 

Carbon metabolism, 21 

Casein, 29 

Carrots, 57 

Cereals, 44 

Catharsis, inadequacy of, 22 

Chemical constituents of food, 9 

Carcinoma, food in, 109 

Cheese, 36 

Children, food for growing, 84 

Cocoa, 64 

Cerebriu, 37 

Coffea, 64 

Chittenden's experiments, 24 

Consumptives, food for, 133 

Condiments, 138 

Chronic ill health, diet in, 137 

Condensed milk, 34 

Cucumbers, 57 

Colds, freedom from, 61 

Cancer of stomach, 109 

Diabetes, oats in, 116 
Diabetics, food for, no 
Diet as a test, in 



I I 



146 



INDEX. 



Dilatation of stomach, food in, 

109 
Displaced organs, diet for, 136 

Effects of heat on milk, 33 

Eggs, 36 

Elements of human body, 9 

Elimination, 20 

Equivalents of carbohydrates, 

"5 
Extractive, 12 

Fat, absorption of, 18 
Fat, diet for the, 127 
Fevers, food for, 129 
First hours of life, the, 87 
Fish, 42 

Fletcher's discovery, 24, 27 
Flonrs and meals, 46 
Foods that ferment readily, 107 
Foods that ferment with diffi- 
culty, 107 
Fruits, 58 
Fruit eaters, 59 
Functions of food, 13, 140 

Gastric ulcer, diet in, 108 
Gelatiuoids, ir 
Gout, diet in, 122 
Grapes, 62 

Heart disease, diet in, 126 

Hypochondria, 105 

Hyperchlorhydria, 103 

Hydrocarbons, 12 

How to eat, 26 

Human milk and cows' milk, 

76 
Hunger, uses of, 144 



Indian corn, 50 
Iron foods, 103 

Kidney, diet in floating, 136 

Lactalbumin, 29 
Lactation, 82, 85 
Lean, diet for the, 129 
Lecithin, 37 
Lentils, 53. 

Malt beverages, 70 

Meat, 38 

Milk, 28, 31, 76 

Milk cure, 35 

Milk sugar, 30 

Meat, analysis of, 40 

Meals and flours, 46 

Milk sugar, 30 

Mineral matter of food, 10 

Mineral matter of milk, 31 

Mineral matter of the body, 10 

Modified milk, 77 

Muscular work, food for, 96 

Nitrogenous metabolism, 21 

Nomenclature, 140 

Normal salt solution, 143 

Notes, 140 

Nursing mothers, 84 

Nuts, 63 

Nutmeg, 138 

Obesity, diet in, 127 

Oats, 52, 97, 116 

Old age, food for, 84, 88 

Olive oil, 72 

Onions, 57 

Oysters. 42 



Infants, food for, 73 



Pepper, 138 



INDEX. 



147 



Peas, 52, 103 

Potatoes, 54, 142 

Potassium iodide, 144 

Protein, n 

Protein, absorption of, 20 

Protein, elimination of, 21 

Proprietary foods, 75 

Rice, 53 
Rye, 52 

Salt solution, normal, 143 

Sauerkraut, 56 

Scanty diet, effects of too, 59, 

143 
Scurvy, 142 
Sedentary habits, 93 
Sour stomach, 103 
Spices and condiments, 138 



Spinach, 57 
Spirits, 70 

Standard of value, 15 
Stiff muscles, 144 
Sulphur, 57, 143 

Tea, 64 

Tomatoes, 57 

Tissue clogging, 89 

Turnips, 56 

Typhoid fever, diet for, 129 

Uric acid, 64, 120 

Vegetable food, 43 

Water, 10 
Wines. 68 



JUL 25 i90? 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





014 339 730 



